Bloody Red Shadow
by FormerlyXrewed
Summary: Nara Shikamaru was kidnapped by Uchiha Itachi one rainy day. Two years later, he's come back to Konoha...as an Akatsuki! He's learned what Sasuke failed to, that hate is what keeps you alive. But there's one person who can change that. ShikaTema HIATUS
1. Chapter 1: Changed

He breathed in the cool air as the dew glistened beneath the light of the rising sun. It had been so long…too long. He took in the sight of the green, amazed at its splendor. Two years ago, he would have called it troublesome. Now it was living glory. Two years ago, the clouds above had been free, but nothing else. Now they were signs of familiarity and change. Two years. Only that long? Two years. More like two eternities. Two years, skulking where the sun couldn't reach. Two years of fighting, killing. Two years of hating.

"Enjoying the sight?" his cloaked comrade remarked. He shrugged. He _was_ enjoying it, a little too much. Another one appeared, grinning maniacally as his blonde hair whipped around in the light wind.

"Hey, where's your uniform, yeah?" The reply was a shrug. "Leader says to hurry up, yeah. And Kisame wants some sake, yeah." He poofed away, his comrade rolling his eyes. _Idiot. _Uchiha Itachi glanced at the one remaining, expression cold as usual.

"I will not hold you back, but I will warn you this; do not kill the Kyuubi. Any other being is yours to dispose of." The other shrugged. Itachi's scowl deepened. "Understand, _Kagemaru, _you belong to the Akatsuki, and you will obey orders." He disappeared easily, as if he were never there. 'Kagemaru' scowled at the name. He honestly preferred his birth name. Not that Itachi cared. After all, he was Uchiha Itachi. The man that had started it all.

_"Hate me, hate yourself, hate anything you wish. Only those who hate survive. The rest die into the nothingness they are."_ Uchiha's own little pep talk. But it'd worked. His apprentice lived on hate, fed on hate, _breathed_ in hate. All that hate for all those reasons. Even Deidara had noticed the difference, and found it to be feared. _"You've changed, yeah," _Deidara once told him. Damn right.

Nara Shikamaru had changed.

-----------

Ino and Chouji sat in front of the silent grave, pure white flowers laid in front of it. "Asuma-sensei…" Ino whispered. It was so quiet. "It's been two years since we lost Shikamaru. Two whole years." She stifled a sob. "We couldn't do anything, we just watched while Itachi took him away. Sensei, everything went wrong ever since you left. We don't even know if he's alive, sensei."

"But we'll find him," Chouji promised. "Even if he's dead, we'll find him and bury him next to you."

"And if he's alive?" a cool, unfamiliar voice said. The two leapt up in surprise, turning to see a figure in a black cloak with red swirls of cloud.

"Who are you?" Ino snarled, reaching for a weapon. _Red clouds...Akatsuki? _The person lifted his hat, revealing a face they knew all too well.

"What," Shikamaru's voice whispered. "You don't know me?"

Stunned silence. Chouji's mouth fell open while Ino dropped the kunai she had grabbed. "Sh-Shikamaru!" she cried, running towards him. Chouji immediately grabbed her by her long blonde ponytail, pulling her back. Shikamaru smirked.

"Never trust anyone. Smart." Chouji glared at him suspiciously. Despite the voice, Shikamaru's mouth never moved. "You guys have grown."

"Shikamaru, where…?"

"Have I been?" Shikamaru smirked as he continued to speak without his lips moving. "That's easy. I've been rotting in a hole with homicidal _psychopaths_ and ants as my only company. And here you are, visiting Asuma's grave like nothing's changed." He looked down at the hunk of cement with a hint of remorse. "Asuma, you died so I wouldn't, and look at me now. You should've let the bastard kill me."

"Shikamaru," Chouji said finally. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, I just wanted to see what's changed. A lot, from what I can tell. But I guess there haven't been any Hokage-killing snake men around lately since Tsunade's head is still up there." He looked towards the mountain for emphasis. Ino and Chouji were silent. Shikamaru shook his head. _They've learned to shut up. _He was about to leave when he turned, hearing something come.

He sighed, recognizing the group instantly. "How troublesome."

The entire gang had come to visit the Asuma. Hinata grew her hair, he noticed. Akamaru was a bigger, a couple different outfits, but nothing much had changed. Everything was the same. Team 8 seemed totally shocked, while team 7 stood in stunned silence. Team 7… _Sasuke's missing_, Shikamaru thought. _The bastard's just like his brother. _Sakura stepped forward, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

"_Shikamaru?"_ she whispered, taking in the clouds on his cloak. He smirked.

"Glad to see you remember me."

"Why are you…?"

"Here? I'm one of _them_." He let his bitter words sink in. _**Them**. I'm one of **them**. _"I'm one of them whether I like it or not, thanks to you guys. Or did you forget how I left?"

"How could I forget?" Sakura blinked back the sudden tears. "I was there when Itachi came."

------------

**Flashback**

_"Stop!" Sakura screamed, pulling at Sasuke desperately. He ignored her despite the fact that he was coughing up blood. "Sasuke-kun, please, you can't leave the hospital!" Shikamaru was in front of him, nearly strangling the Uchiha in an attempt to calm him down. Sasuke struggled, furious at the thought of Itachi being nearby and him not having a chance to fight him. Unforgivable._

_"You're going to bleed to death, you idiot!" Shikamaru yelled, punching Sasuke in the gut. Sasuke groaned, falling to his knees. Sakura kneeled down, slowly healing him. Shikamaru sighed, standing up._

"_Troublesome," he growled. "How are you supposed to kill your brother if you won't stop bleeding?" Sasuke glared at him beneath the black bangs. His dark eyes suddenly widened and he opened his mouth in alarm. Shikamaru turned only to be hit hard in the chest, flying into a tree._

_"Shikamaru!" Sakura cried. The lazy genius groaned, falling to the ground. A pair of feet stopped by his face and he looked up to see the swishing black cloak. He stared at the bloody designs on the cloak, wondering why his clouds had betrayed him. The adult bent down and pulled Shikamaru's head up by his hair. He stiffened as he faced an older version of Sasuke with evil red eyes. _Uchiha Itachi.

**End flashback**

----------

"We looked for you!" Kiba shouted. "But you were gone, man!" Shikamaru shook his head.

"Liar," he hissed, his calm voice suddenly venomous. "Had you really come for me, you wouldn't be standing here. You'd be in a grave by Asuma." There was silence as they processed his words. It was true. None of them were near Itachi's level, not even Sasuke. Tsunade had forbidden them to look for Shikamaru, despite Ino and Chouji's pleads. Ino had nearly killed herself then and there.

"Please, Shikamaru-kun!" Hinata whispered. Her voice was still gentle, which bothered Shikamaru. A ninja can't afford to be gentle. A ninja is a murderer. Or at least he was. "Why did you come back?"

"Itachi said I could," Shikamaru replied lazily. His eyes fixed onto Naruto. "He said I could destroy this village."

"What?" Ino shouted, paling. _This can't be Shikamaru! _But somehow, it was. That cool, lazy look and the hidden air of authority...all wrapped up in a black cloak.

"Except Naruto. They still need the Kyuubi, so Naruto gets to live. Lucky you, eh?" Shikamaru watched as Naruto's face darkened with anger. "Troublesome, isn't it? Having to watch your comrades die before you. You find it hard to even _think_ about. I've lived through it, Naruto. Hokage. Asuma. My _parents_. They all died for this damned village. And so will you."

"Why are you doing this, Shikamaru?" Naruto shouted, his eyes glowing red. Shikamaru smiled, his eyes sad and distant. In a flash, he was behind Naruto, a kunai to his throat.

"Because I can."

-----------------

**Flashback**

_"Itachi!" Sasuke screamed, struggling to get up. Sakura was holding him down, sobbing as Itachi came nearer. One arm was wrapped around Shikamaru's waist, like he was a bag. He hated it._

_"I did not come for you," Itachi said. His eyes lingered on Sakura, who hugged the younger Uchiha tighter as she braced herself for pain. Instead, Itachi turned away with Shikamaru in tow._

_"Get off…" the chuunin groaned. Itachi smirked slightly before looking back at Sakura._

_"Two years." She looked at him, confused. "In two years, I will return this boy. Let's see if you still want him." _

**End flashback**

------------

Shikamaru sighed, examining his hands. He had managed to wipe them clean before Itachi came, knowing the Uchiha bastard would try to drink any blood left. Something sparkled; it was a silver ring shaped like a lizard curled around his left ring finger, shimmering blue like the above sky. In truth, it was a real lizard. Itblinked lazily, nodding towards the left. There was a sudden shuffling and Shikamaru looked up. Itachi was surveying the graveyard.

Numerous chuunins were sprawled on the ground, including the Kyuubi. None of the wounds seemed fatal. Indeed, it looked like Shikamaru had been purposely missing their vital organs. There was a single red flower between the scattered white ones in respect of the dead. Itachi moved towards Naruto but stopped when a hand grabbed the hem of his cloak.

"Not today," Shikamaru said. "Not until they feel it."

"Feel what?"

"The misery of being abandoned."

-----------------

**Flashback**

_Shikamaru shivered, feeling at his neck. The ANBU had tried to save him. Tried. One of the kunai had just barely missed him, grazing his throat. He couldn't talk without feeling hell claw at him from the inside out. Uchiha Itachi had defeated them easily, throwing them around like dolls. Shikamaru knew he was showing off. It had been a week since they'd brought him here, and still he waited for help. The door creaked open and he looked up, instantly ready to fight for his life. Itachi entered, his black cloak brushing against the ground. _

_"Do you know why you are here?" Shikamaru glared at him, edging into the corner. Itachi smirked, to his rage. The younger Nin forced himself not to tackle the jerk as Itachi continued watching him coldly. "You are here because I am in need of an…apprentice." Shikamaru blinked. An apprentice?_ Why me?_ Itachi could see the burning question._

_"I chose you because I felt you would understand. You hide behind that lazy demeanor, when truly you are a strategical genius. You are able to hide your thoughts and control them. You have more potential than Sasuke ever did." Shikamaru frowned. This wasn't the conversation he'd expected. Not that it was really a conversation when he couldn't talk. Itachi came a bit closer._

_"Hate is what keeps you strong. Just like…" he paused. "…When you killed Hidan." Shikamaru looked at the floor angrily, unaware of Itachi inching closer. "You did it, didn't you? You hacked off every piece of his body; burst every vein that flowed. I saw you ripping that heart into shreds and I knew you were perfect. You did that out of hate. Revenge. Didn't it feel good? I will help you harness that power. And…" Shikamaru looked up and realized Itachi was right above him. "You will belong to the Akatsuki." _

_Shikamaru frowned. _No. My friends, they're waiting for me. They'll come._ Itachi seemed to hear his thoughts. Smirking, the Uchiha said, "I'll give you a week."_

_A week later; Itachi opened the door to see Shikamaru lying on the small bed they'd provided him. His fingers were bleeding badly, and a small gray lizard climbed over Shikamaru's face protectively, hissing when Itachi came near. He noticed the scales were actually silvery and were reflecting the unseen sky. A summoning? But so _small_. The lizard hissed again, spitting out a stream of molten metal. Itachi dodged, watching it pile against the wall sluggishly. He smirked._

_Shikamaru barely noticed when Itachi sat on the side of the bed. "Well?" the Uchiha said quietly._

_"'Well' what?" the genius' voice rang out. Itachi looked down and realized Shikamaru's voice was being projected from his summon._

_"Have you considered my offer?"_

_"Yeah," the genius said quietly. Itachi understood Shikamaru was conveying what he wanted to say to the summon in his mind; the lizard was his new voice. _

_"And…?" There was silence._

_"They didn't come."_

_"They never will," Itachi said coldly. "If they do, they will come in pieces." Shikamaru shivered at the thought._

_"I'll kill you if you hurt them."_

_"Impossible." Shikamaru glared at him before speaking._

_"I have one condition," Shikamaru's voice murmured. Itachi raised an eyebrow._

_"Yes?"_

_"I get to kill anyone I want." Shikamaru's eyes gleamed with determination and, to Itachi's pleasure, hatred._

_"Excluding the Kyuubi, I will agree." Dark eyes looked up at the man's face._

_"Does that mean you're on the list?" Itachi smirked with dark understanding._

_"Perhaps."_

**End flashback**

--------------------------

Itachi glanced at Shikamaru's neck, which was bare. A scar broke into the tan skin right between the neck and shoulder. Shikamaru glared at Itachi before moving ahead.

_Bastard. Just let me kill them._ He itched to drown Konoha in a river of blood, to bite into its people with weapons and drink in death, the way Itachi had drank his blood. He unconsciously rubbed against his pale scar.

------------------

**Flashback**

_"STOP!" Shikamaru yelled as he struggled against his assailant. The silvery-blue lizard spat at Itachi angrily, hissing. Itachi grabbed it and threw it across the room with the intention to kill. Shikamaru automatically canceled his summoning, watching the reptile poof away. He winced as Itachi slammed him against the wall mercilessly_

_"Why aren't you protesting now?" Itachi teased, knowing well the genius couldn't speak without his summon. He ripped the Nara's shirt where the shoulder met the neck. Shikamaru shuddered, pushing at the Uchiha desperately._

_"Stay still. This will not hurt as much as one of Orochimaru' seals," Itachi ordered. Shikamaru sullenly obeyed, looking scared out of his wits. Itachi ran his tongue over the skin slowly, feeling for a good spot. Shikamaru twitched as the Uchiha's teeth brushed against his vulnerable skin. _There._ Pain. Lots of it. Shikamaru opened his mouth in an empty cry, full aware that it would be loud and agonizing if it could be heard. Itachi ignored the movement, sinking his teeth in deeper. Shikamaru slowly slid down the wall, paling. Itachi bent down, drinking in the blood that freely flowed. He pulled away, watching the boy's eyes dull from the pain._

_"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Itachi smirked, blood dripping from his lips. Shikamaru didn't answer, already falling into unconsciousness from the blood loss. Itachi licked his lips as he watched the wound heal itself quickly, a gift from Hidan's blood. A pearly scar remained, droplets of blood trickling down Shikamaru's neck. _

_Nara Shikamaru. A lazy genius. _

_Nara Shikamaru. A reluctant traitor. _

_Nara Shikamaru. A successful creation of two blood bondages; Hidan's gene transfer and Itachi's own personal mark. Itachi gave his unconscious apprentice a genuine smile. If only he was awake to see it. _

_Nara Shikamaru. An Akatsuki._


	2. Chapter 2: Killer

A/N: Imagine my surprise when I look for Shikamaru stories and discover I've been reviewed AND favorited! I love you guys. And so, I will graciously update.

_----------_

"What, no souvenirs?" the shark-man laughed. Shikamaru glared at Kisame, obviously not in the mood to talk. Kisame noticed and was silent, staring at him suspiciously.

"Did you kill, un?" Deidara asked cheerfully. Shikamaru shook his head and the blonde frowned. "Why not? You had no problems with the ANBU." The teen rolled his eyes at the memory.

---------

**Flashback**

Shikamaru blinked, looking down at his hand. His entire arm was soaked in blood, though it was not his own. At his feet lay a group of Konoha ANBU, all dead. He shuddered, dismissing the wave of nausea. The lizard on his finger blinked up at him, its scales now a brilliant blue.

_"Upset about a little blood?" it drawled. Its voice was cool and cold, a bit like Uchiha's. "You'll never survive at this rate."_

Shut up_, Shikamaru thought angrily. _I'm not a murderer._ The lizard let out a derisive snort._

_"'Not a murderer'? Please. Not only an Akatsuki, but you're a ninja. Ninja, shinobi, whatever you want to call it, it's just a nicer name for murderer."_

Shut up.

_"Don't try to fool yourself, kid. You're just a killer. That was decided the second you were _born_."_

_"I KNOW THAT, KAGAMI!" Shikamaru roared, instantly regretting it as his throat was stabbed by pain. Kagami blinked, surprised that his master was getting angry and speaking. _I know. But this is my only choice.

_"You're just hurting yourself," he said quietly. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "You're going to kill everyone you trusted and be left without a purpose. Why do you think the Uchiha runt returned to Konoha? It wasn't that he couldn't kill Itachi (which _was _part of it); it was he didn't have anything left for if he did that. He had no life to live if he followed that path. You really want to end up like that?"_

That's not it._ Kagami looked up at Shikamaru, awaiting the next message. _Sasuke gave up because he was weak. He gave in to Sakura and Naruto's stupidity. I'm different. _Shikamaru looked up at the pale blue sky, raising his bloody hand into a fist. "I'll kill them all."_

**End flashback**

---------

"I want to enjoy this," was Shikamaru's cool reply. Kagami smirked as he finished transmitting, flicking his tongue out. Blood.

"_Someone's_ been killing. Who was it, sharkie? Or clay boy?"

"Clay boy," Kisame said. Deidara pouted at the nickname.

"Baaaaaaaang," he whispered, imagining Kagami and Kisame exploding into a billion bits of shinobi. Ooooooooh, that'd be fun…

"Shut it," Shikamaru snapped. He glanced around, frowning. "Any new orders?"

"Nope."

"Let's go out, un!" Deidara cheered. Kisame, Kagami, and Shikamaru stared at him in mortification. "Whaaaaaaat? We just ditch the cloaks, and no one will know it's us!"

"And if someone just _happens_ to notice a blue guy, a girly one, and a lazy one…?"

"We kill them, un!" Kisame groaned at the idiotic look on the blonde's face as he cheerfully stated the obvious. Shikamaru wanted to hit Deidara. Hard.

_Troublesome…_

_---------_

Itachi blinked. He had woken up to find himself in a cloudless cloak with a drunken Kisame next to him. "Kisame…." He growled.

"Yesh?"

"Why am I in a bar?"

"Deidara's shuggeshtion…" Kisame drawled, pouring himself sake. Itachi gave himself a mental note to use Mangekyo on both of them as soon as there were no witnesses.

"Where's Kagemaru?"

"Out…" Kisame hiccupped, beginning to leer at the frightened customers. Itachi frowned. _Out. This close to the Hidden Leaf. This doesn't bode too well…_

_-------_

Sakura fidgeted, wondering how to break it to Sasuke. Truthfully, she supposed. "Sasuke-kun…" Her boyfriend looked up, raising an eyebrow.

"What is it, Sakura?"

"Do…do you remember when Shikamaru was…_taken_?" The dark glare she got was answer enough.

"Why?" he growled, though her anger wasn't aimed at her. She swallowed hard.

"He…he came back." Sasuke looked at her with total shock, his mouth dropping open. "When we all went to visit Asuma-sensei…" Sasuke's expression quickly switched from shock to coldness.

"Was Itachi there?"

"Yes. After Shikamaru knocked us all out. I saw him before I fainted…" Sasuke swore, glaring at the wall as if it were his brother.

"Why did he attack you?"

"He…he…" Sakura looked down, tears in her eyes. "He's an Akatsuki."

-------------

"WHAT?" Tsunade bellowed, slamming her fist down. The chuunin looked rather frightened at the sight. "NARA SHIKAMARU HAS RETURNED, AS AN AKATSUKI?"

"Yeah," Kiba muttered bitterly. Tsunade swore loudly, making no attempt to pick up the sake jar that lay on the floor bleeding sake onto the floor.

"He hates us," Hinata said softly. "Shikamaru-kun hates us."

"Itachi brainwashed him or something," Ino snapped. "Shikamaru would _never_ do that to us."

"But he did," Shino said calmly. "He did, of his own will." They fell silent, wondering what to do. Tsunade sighed, rubbing at her temples agitatedly.

"Did he say anything?"

"Yeah. He said he was going to kill everyone, except Naruto." Ino glanced at him. "They still need the Kyuubi." Tsunade sank into her seat, groaning.

"All right. Here's the plan. I want all of you to pair up. _Never_ be alone. Especially you, Naruto. Shikamaru will likely target you again, so be prepared. If you encounter him, capture him and bring him here. Hopefully we'll be able to knock some sense into him. Understood?" There was a chorus of yes as the teens scurried off. Tsunade let her head hit the desk, cursing inwardly. _Shikamaru…_

_------------_

Shikamaru watched the black sky lazily, Kagami peacefully lying on his shoulder. "Pretty," Kagami breathed. His scales reflected the glorious stars shimmering down on them surrounded by pure night. "It's been so long since I've seen a Konoha night."

_It's been forever,_ Shikamaru thought sourly. Kagami gently whacked his face with his tail at the pesticism.

"Don't be such a wuss. By the way, I heard some interesting news while I was in the Sand." Shikamaru didn't react. "The Kazekage's older sister is coming to Konoha." Shikamaru turned rather quickly, startling Kagami.

_What?_

"She's the one you fought, right? Temari?" He could tell from Shikamaru's face that he was right. "I also heard she's been investigating your disappearance." Shikamaru sighed, sitting up.

"Troublesome woman," he whispered hoarsely, ignoring the burning pain. Kagami grinned.

"Ah, is she your first crush?"

_Shut up._

"Don't worry, we can avoid her easily. And if we find her, just kill her." Silence. "Or would you prefer not to?" Shikamaru sank into the soft grass, closing his eyes. He sighed.

_Let's hope Gaara can pay for the funeral._

_---------_

"Baaaaaang! Bang, bang, BAAAAANG!" Deidara cackled, flinging his arms around Kisame in a wild frenzy. Kisame laughed, blasting the stench of alcohol into the air. Itachi grimaced.

"You _idiots_, we should leave before someone recognizes us!" The two ignored him.

"Itaaaaaachiiiiiiiii, letsh drink!" Kisame mumbled, banging his jar of sake on the table. Itachi glared at him, his bloodred eyes full of clear aggravation.

"If you two don't stop, I'll tell Kagemaru exactly whose idea it was to get me an apprentice. _And_ who left the ANBU corpses in his bathroom." The two idiots sobered immediately, horror dawning on their faces as they imagined Shikamaru ripping them apart like Hidan. Deidara shivered.

"Ok, un…" he sighed. He and Kisame poofed away, leaving Itachi to brood alone.

"Um, sir?" Itachi looked up to see a blonde waitress. "Your bill." Itachi cursed as he took in the long line of zeroes. He couldn't wait to murder those two.

-----------------

Preview of Next Chapter:

_"Troublesome as always," Shikamaru muttered darkly. "I guess I'll kill her now." Temari looked up in horror as he raised the black blade, swinging down with bloodlust._

_"Don't!"_

_---------_

A/N: Yeah, I know it's kinda ooc on the Akatsuki part, but Deidara always struck me as the ADD type and I read so many fics with Kisame + Sake, so I wanted to try what it equaled. Naturally, Itachi's going to kill tonight…


	3. Chapter 3: Dead

A/N: Sorry for no updating, major chool crap ad writer' block. I WILL make up for my lateness! BELIEVE IT!!! ...I did NOT just say that.

------

Shikamaru had gone back to find Deidara and Kisame reeking of alcohol and hiding from Itachi. "What'd you do now?"

"They left me a list. A very _long_ list," Itachi answered. His blood-colored eyes narrowed as he tossed the bill at Shikamaru.

"Look at all those zeroes," Kagami commented. "How'd you pay?"

"I sold Deidara's favorite 'art project'."

"Nooooooooooooooo! Not ShinShin!" Deidara wailed. "He didn't even blow up yet!" Shikamaru rolled his eyes, stepping over the half-conscious, drooling Kisame.

"We're going out," he muttered to Itachi, leaving the two half-wits to their fates.

"Poor guys," Kagami smirked.

_They deserve it_, Shikamaru thought with a slight, twisted grin on his face. _I wonder what they'll look like when Itachi's through with them?_ He continued walking, Kagami slipping around his neck for warmth. The sun was starting to rise, a golden orb in a mass of blood and clouds.

"Someone's coming," Kagami warned. Shikamaru quickly performed a genjutsu, blending into the trees. A lone figure came their way, not bothering to mask their presence. Shikamaru's eyes widened as he recognized her.

Her blond hair was tied into four ponytails and a fan was strapped to her back. The sharp eyes darted around once in a while, her black dress even darker as her body was covered in shadows. Shikamaru swallowed.

_"Temari."_

Temari turned, sure she had heard something. She could see something was different and shot out a shuriken. Shikamaru dodged, his illusion dispelling. Temari reached for her fan, narrowing her eyes. "Who are you?" she growled.

_Still troublesome,_ Shikamaru thought. Kagami held in his laughter.

"No one," Shikamaru replied quietly, fading into the cool morning air, leaving the confused Sand Nin to herself.

--------

"Temari!" Ino waved half-heartedly. The older girl frowned at the sad, desperate look on the other's face.

"What's wrong?"

"He came back." Temari's heart stopped. "Shikamaru came back." Her heart came back, pounding painfully fast against her chest. _Back. He's back. _"And he's an Akatsuki."

"What?" Temari snapped. "No, that's impossible!"

"It's not," Chouji said quietly. Temari was silent.

"When."

"Yesterday." Temari's head shot up. _Yesterday?_

"Wait." That guy… "Akatsuki have black cloaks with red clouds, right?"

"Yeah."

"Did he have something silver?"

"Silver…?"

"Like a lizard."

"Yes!" Ino shrieked, leaping up. "Did you meet him?"

"Just for a few minutes," Temari said, a little scared at the younger girl's wild expression. "I didn't know it was him."

"Oh my gosh, we have to tell Hokage-sama!" Ino yelled and promptly dragged poor Temari towards Hokage Tower. Chouji sighed and looked up at the pale sky, which was littered with Shikamaru's favorite clouds. Why Shikamaru? Why couldn't it be Sasuke again, or someone else? Speak of the devil… Sasuke was angrily storming towards Hokage Tower, Sakura following with worried eyes.

--------------------

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as Sasuke slammed his hands down onto her desk.

"I want permission to go after Uchiha Itachi," he growled.

"No."

"I HAVE to!" Sasuke screamed, completely forgetting whom he was talking to. "If Nara Shikamaru is here, Itachi is too!"

"Yeah, Itachi's here." The Leaf shinobi turned to see the calm figure sitting on the windowsill, lazily looking out at the sky. "Why, you want to leave him a message or something?"

"Shikamaru!" Sakura cried. The teen shook his head.

"Nara Shikamaru is dead, Sakura. He died two years ago when a certain Hokage abandoned him to fate." Tsunade's eyes held a pang of regret as she took in the cold words. "All that's left is Kagemaru of the Akatsuki."

"Well then, _Kagemaru_, why are you here?"

"Well, _Uchiha_, I met a certain troublesome woman on her way to Konoha and I thought I'd kill her." He smiled faintly as the door opened, Temari and Ino coming in with Hinata and Kiba. Four mouths dropped open in shock.

"Sh-Shikamaru!" Temari gasped. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"What, no 'pineapple-head'? Troublesome woman…"

"I thought you said we were here to kill, boy." Kagami prodded at Shikamaru's face with his tail. "Unless you've changed your mind."

"I don't feel like going back yet," Shikamaru agreed. He raised a small capsule and smiled. "Say cheese."

Light. Brilliant, blinding light, spreading like wildfire. Ino opened her eyes to realize Temari was no longer beside her.

--------------

Temari yelped as Shikamaru roughly dropped her onto the hard forest floor. She looked up at the younger boy, their eyes meeting. _She looks like she wants to fight, _Shikamaru thought. _She always did._

_Sad. His eyes are so sad. And hateful. _They were like Gaara's eyes, before he'd met the Uzumaki runt. Somehow, it hurt Temari that Shikamaru was like this.

"What do you want?" she hissed, taking her fan out. Shikamaru smiled, raising the hand with Kagami on it.

"Isn't it obvious?" he whispered. "I want you to die." Kagami's mouth opened and black electricity shot out at the kunoichi. Temari dodged gracefully, opening her fan and shouting, "Kamaitachi!" Wind tore out of the paper and headed for Shikamaru, who easily moved out of the way.

"You're slow, kunoichi."

"Shut up!" She swung at him violently, only to realize he was behind her. There was a sudden stab of pain and she fell clutching at her stomach. Shikamaru sighed as dark shadows clawed at the Sand girl, dargging her down.

"And here I thought I'd have some real fun. Ah well…" He waved his hand lazily, black electricity slowly forming a dagger in his hold. Temari immediately swung at him hard, watching painfully as he leapt into the air. She threw a single Kunai at him, pinning his hat to a tree. Her mouth dropped open as she saw his full face.

His face was the same as before, but harder and stiffer. It was like his muscles were frozen into place, a bitter frown replacing the lazy grin from years past. His hair hung loosely up to his elbows, no longer in the pineapple shape she remembered. A thin, barely noticeable scar lined along his throat. _Oh, Kami…is this really Shikamaru?_

"What did they do to you?" she cried, horrified at the dark aura he possessed. He only flicked his wrist so the shadows fully bound her to the ground, forcing a painful yelp out of the blonde.

"Troublesome as always," Shikamaru muttered darkly. "I guess I'll kill her now." Temari looked up in horror as he raised the black blade, swinging down with bloodlust.

"Don't!" Shikamaru blinked, looking back to see Hinata and Kiba. Hinata looked scared, Kiba looked pissed. "Let her go, Shikamaru-kun!" Shikamaru smirked at the soft tone the Hyuuga spoke with. In a flash he was behind her, his blade to her throat.

"You should stay out of this Hyuuga," he said coldly. "You'll never be a shinobi if you can't kill. That's what it's about. Temari," he added the name softly. "That's what everything's about."

--------------

_Damn it, I didn't expect a light grenade! _Sasuke fumed as he shot through the forest, looking desperately for any signs of his brother. Sakura and Ino followed, both looking confused and scared.

"Will he kill her?" Ino worried.

"Shut up," Sakura said firmly. "He may be…confused, but he's still attached. I don't think he will." Sasuke avoided the conversation, knowing well his words would only cause pain. _Damn you, Itachi._

------------------

Hinata gasped painfully as she flopped the ground, blood pooling beneath. Kiba was screaming, Akamaru was too; so much pain…She closed her eyes and listened.

"Shikamaru, you bastard!" Kiba. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Oh really?" A cold voice. Hinata didn't recognize it, but it didn't sound cruel. Just bored. And maybe lonely? "How do you plan to do that, boy?"

"Don't bother, Kagami." Hinata shivered at the raw loathing in the voice. _Why does he hate us?_ "He knows as well as we do; he can't kill us." Footsteps coming closer. Kiba swearing. Hinata shivered, limp against the wet grass. Is it over?

Warmth. Sweet, pleasant warmth, like holding your father's hand. The girl opened her pale eyes to see Shikamaru's dark ones. _He looks sad…why? Did we make him this way?_ Kiba…shouting? 'What are you doing'…what's that supposed to mean? She blinked and realized that Shikamaru was quietly healing her.

"Shikamaru-kun?" The young man flinched at her gentle, confused tone.

"Don't call me that," he murmured. Hinata noticed the lizard's mouth opened, not Shikamaru's. "I'm…I'm dead."

"Dead?" Kiba whispered, watching quietly. "What do you mean by that?"

"It means I'm not the Shikamaru you remember," he replied bitterly. His dark eyes glanced over at Temari, who was still on the ground watching with pained eyes. "It'd be better if I were dead."

"How right you are, yeah!" a cheerful voice agreed. "But Itachi wouldn't be happy if his _apprentice_ died, would he?" Shikamaru blanched, standing up to see Deidara. Kisame and Itachi were there too, Kisame's huge blade poised threateningly against Kiba.

"Itachi," the teen said coolly. He didn't bother acknowledging the other two. "I thought we agreed I could kill freely." Itachi's cold eyes were on the frightened Hyuuga heiress.

"I don't remember anything about _healing_, Kagemaru." Temari shuddered at the icy tone, wondering how Shikamaru had survived living with someone like _him._

"I'll kill her when I feel like it," Shikamaru snapped. "Untl hn, say out of it!" There was cold silence, Kisame and Dedara watching the teen with amusement. "Itachi…" he added quietly, as if in thought. "I think I'm ready to die." Kiba's eyes widened and Temari gasped. _WHAT?_

"I see," Itachi said, stoic as ever. He glanced over at Kisame, who sighed and teleported away. Deidara followed with a cheerful wave, Itachi flashing the group one last look before leaving. Silence.

"The next time we meet…" The three looked at Shikamaru in surprise. He was speaking; his voice was shaky and dry. He coughed painfully but continued. "I won't be myself. You will all be dead to me. It's your duty to deal with what happens." He slowly walked away, clearly intent on teleporting to…wherever.

"Wait!" Kiba howled. "Why do you want us to…?"

"Kill me?" Shikamaru smiled faintly, something familiar flickering in his eyes. "It's ust too troublesome to do it myself. But I'll warn you now; you'll be dead to me. So you'll have to finish it whether you like it or not." He faded into the wind just as Sasuke and the girls arrived.

-------------------

"Are you sure you wish to do this?" Itachi's cold voice resonated across the room. Shikamaru nodded.

"It's troublesome, but I'll bear with it. They're too familiar to me, which is screwing with my 'kill them all' plan."

_Are you sure it's not that you just don't want to kill them? _Shikamaru ignored Kagami's voice crawling through his head. _Or perhaps you wish you could return…?_

_Shut up._

Itachi grabbed a small knife, looking at Shikamaru expectantly. The latter held out his arm, wincing as the knife cut through tender flesh. He watched in morbid fascination as the crimson life circled around him, writing themselves into an unknown language as Itachi flashed his handseals. Kagami slithered off his master to leave the circle, unwilling to be affected. Shikamaru closed his eyes, ready to embrace pain.

Fire. Pain. Ice. Pain. Lightning. Pain. Wounds, blood, painpainpainpainpainpainpain. The teen screamed as the numerous seals crawled onto his skin, burning into his skin before fading. He slumped to the ground, groaning.

_A blonde girl and a chubby boy. Both smiling._

_Same ones, not smiling. Hiding in a bush. _

_Same boy, dying. Half dead. Tears? The girl. She's crying. Why?_

Itachi watched as his apprentice screamed again, his memories being burned out by the second. The blood on the floor faded, and Itachi knew it was done. The boy sat on his knees limply, unreactive as Itachi lifted his chin. Brown eyes, dull form pain, met brilliant crimson ones. In that moment, Nara Shikamaru died. And someone else was born.

Preview of Next Chapter:

_"Sorry, but I'm not this 'Shikamaru', whoever he is. The name's Kagemaru of the Akatsuki. Nice to meet you." In a flash, he was behind her, kunai stabbing into her stomach. "It's troublesome, but could you please die?"_


	4. Chapter 4: ShikaWHO?

A/N: Yeah, I know it's short. Bear with me, it's hard to think sometimes. In fact, I'm amazed I've updated so fast. It's the reviews. I love reading them, it makes me feel so GOOD after seven hours of school. Hint Hint Wink Wink.

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Temari stared up at the blank ceiling, frowning. Sakura had healed her almost instantly, but insisted she stay in the hospital. By her was Hinata, Kiba in the room next to them. Hinata breathed softly, shaking in her sleep. Temari frowned deeper as she remembered the events of that day.

She'd always hoped she'd see the lazy pineapple head again. Although she'd deny it, she had cried when she got the news. Cried and broken five walls. Even Gaara had been alarmed at her strange outburst of angry tears, wondering what was with the commotion. Only Kankuro understood.

The door slid open and Kiba limped in, his eyes settling on the sleeping Hyuuga. "She's fine," Temari said. "She's just tired." Kiba smiled faintly but didn't leave. Instead, he dragged a chair to Hinata's bed and sat quietly, gently brushing the dark hair out of her face. Akamaru curled up on the bed, sleeping between the two. The older girl felt a stab of jealousy watching the trio in their peaceful bliss.

_Shikamaru, you damn pineapple… _

----------------

"He's an S-rank missing nin, and obviously eager to attack…" Tsunade sighed in defeated. "If you see him again, kill him." The looks of stunned horror were traumatizing. "If you can't do that, at least injure or capture him!" she snapped, angry from the lack of sake and sleep. "Do you really want to wait for him to kill you?" Silence.

Ino looked at the Hokage with raw fury burning in her eyes. "It's your fault!" she yelled, rounding onto the surprised Godaime and stoic Sasuke. "YOU" –

Sasuke blinked— " should have thought about something besides your stupid revenge! You're the reason Shikamaru was captured! And YOU should have sent more help after him!"

"And have twenty more funerals?" Tsunade said in a low voice. Ino shut up, her eyes brimming with tears as she ran out the door. Shino held an arm out, stopping Sakura from leaving as well.

"Shishou, please understand!" Sakura begged. "Shikamaru was one of Ino's best friends, and it doesn't help that he was taken only a month after Asuma died."

"I know, Tsunade sighed. "But we can't change the past. We can only create the future."

"The future…" Sasuke repeated.

---------------

Ino stormed through the village, raging inwardly at Tsunade and Sasuke. Deeper, she also yelled at herself for not finding Shikamaru. _You could have gone after him! You could have saved him! He was your best friend! _She found herself in front of Asuma's grave, staring dejectedly at the withering flowers. "Asuma-sensei…" she cried, her sorrow trickling down her face. "It's not fair…" She sobbed into her knees, letting out her misery. Hours crawled by until the sun was sinking into darkness, the sky a brilliant splash of color.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Ino shot up in alarm, stepping back as a figure in a black cloak came closer. "You're pretty too," he observed. Ino recognized the lizard on his hand immediately, swirls of the sky reflected on its silvery skin.

"Shikamaru!" she gasped. The boy looked confused, although he continued to smile warmly.

"Sorry, but I'm not this 'Shikamaru', whoever he is. The name's Kagemaru of the Akatsuki. Nice to meet you." In a flash, he was behind her, kunai stabbing into her stomach. "It's troublesome, but could you please die?"

---------------

Pain. Blood. Blood. Pain. Ino gasped, sinking to her knees as the teen continued to smile. "Red suits you," the boy announced cheerfully. "It really goes with all the purple." She groaned, blood pouring out of her body as she lay against the cool ground. "Wanna tell me your name so I can make you a grave?"

"You know my name," she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Really? No way. Ok, let me think. Is it Yoshino?" Ino blinked despite the pain. _That's your mother's name._

"INO!" The blonde lifted her head slightly to see her beloved teammate running towards her, Sakura and Sasuke on his heels. Shikamaru waved as Sakura went for Ino, healing her as quickly as she could.

"Man, you Konoha ninja really want to die, huh?" he laughed.

"Stop it, Shikamaru!" Sakura screamed. "Just stop!" He frowned.

"Who the hell is this Shikamaru guy? Blondie thought I was him too. Get it in your heads, people. The name's _Kagemaru._" He stepped menacingly towards the kunoichi. Sasuke shot in front of her, his eyes blood red. The Akatsuki teen noticed instantly.

"Ah, a Sharingan user. So you're Uchiha Sasuke, the worthless little brother?" he scrunched his face as if concentrating. "Or was it brainless, I can't remember…" The face Sasuke had would have been funny if it wasn't for the situation.

"Don't screw with me, Nara!" Sasuke roared.

"Nara?" Shikamaru looked down with interest. "Is that a clan?"

"Are you _serious_?" Chouji yelled. "It's YOUR clan!"

"Really?" He scratched at his head absently. "You sure?" The Konoha ninjas stared at him, shocked. "Well, I guess it's possible. But it doesn't really matter. I don't need a clan. I heard everything I need to know from Itachi."

"What's everything?" Chouji snapped. He was scared, this isn't Shikamaru, Shikamaru would NEVER hurt Ino, even if he was in Akatsuki…

"Everything, _chubby_, is everything. Like the Leaf killing my parents, and my teacher. The Leaf doing _this_ to me…" he bared his throat and showed them the thin white line. His scowl melted into a friendly smile as he stepped back peacefully. "I'll let you guys go since it's our first meeting. But just let me warn you." The grin faded into deadly seriousness. "I'm going to kill every single one of you."

-------------

"NO!" Temari screamed. "This is NOT possible!" She watched in horror as Chouji gently lay Ino on a hospital bed. "Tell me this isn't true!"

"He almost killed her," Sakura whispered. "If we were ten seconds later she would've died."

"He didn't know any of us," Chouji muttered. "He didn't even recognize me. Or the name of his own clan."

"Itachi gave him the screwed up version of the story," Sasuke said angrily. "He told him about his parents, Asuma, and his scar, but he failed to mention that Shikamaru was a Konoha shinobi and the Akatsuki killed Asuma."

"This sucks," Kiba growled. He had followed the scent of blood to find them surrounding the weakened blonde. "This SUCKS!"

"Billboard…" Ino tugged weakly at Sakura's shirt.

"Yeah?" the pinkette whispered, ignoring the childish nickname.

"He…doesn't remember…" the blonde croaked.

"I know, Piggy." Sakura gently wiped the sweat off her friend's face. "It's ok."

"S-Sakura…"

"Yeah?" Sakura said, trying not to panic. Ino was pale and visibly shaking, red stained into her skin and clothes.

"He…he tried to guess…my name…" Ino swallowed painfully. "He guessed…Yoshino…"

"His mother?" Sakura blinked, her mouth dropping open. Ino nodded slowly, squeezing her eyes shut as Sakura continued to pump life into her body. "That means…he _does_ remember some things, small things like names. If we could just work on that…"

"It's not that easy, Sakura," Tsunade sighed. "From your description, I'm guessing Itachi used a _JaeSaeng_ jutsu."

"JaeSaeng? It sounds foreign."

"It is. It means 'rebirth' in the country of Koryo. There are three types: body, soul, and mind. Body is used to revert the body tissues into smaller versions of themselves. In short, shrink them back a few years. Soul can be used to completely change someone's personality. Mind can and will modify a person's memories."

"So Itachi modified Shikamaru's memories…why?"

"So he could die." They looked at Kiba. "He told us, before."

_I'm…I'm dead._

_I'm not the Shikamaru you remember._

_Next time you see me, I won't be myself._

_You're going to be dead to me. _

_So you'll have to deal with it, whether you like it or not. _

"He said the next time we saw him, we'd be dead to him."

"So he meant he wouldn't remember us…" Temari murmured, watching as Ino struggled to sit up. Shino gently pulled her up, setting the pillow behind her.

"God, can't we DO something?" Naruto burst out. He had been surprisingly quiet up till now. "We have to get the normal, lazy Shikamaru back!"

"Can anything reverse the jutsu, Hokage-sama?" Chouji pressed. Tsunade looked down, unwilling to see their faces.

"No."

--------------

_So nice,_ Kagemaru thought. Kagami grunted in agreement, flicking his tail lazily as the sun sank on his skin. _Hey, Kagami._

_Hm?_

_Who's Yoshino?_ Kagami blinked at the question.

_Why?_

_Well, the name just keeps popping up in my head. Just wondering if you knew._

…_She was your mother._

_Oh._ Kagemaru blinked up at the sky, a strange calm settling over him as he watched the clouds darken. _That explains nothing._

-------------

"The anathema effect should settle in soon," Itachi said calmly. "After that, we will let him do as he wishes, after we capture the Kyuubi.

"It's just too perfect!" Kisame crowed. "Kage-brat will kill them, _and_ we can get the nine tails brat!"

"And he doesn't remember how much he hates us, yeah!" Deidara added.

"Deidara is a bad boy…" Tobi muttered. He was ignored.

"I want to _feast_," Zetsu whispered. "I want to feed on the flesh of Konoha, drink in raw blood."

"You'll get that soon enough, Zetsu," Kisame grinned.

"When we go back," Itachi added coldly, "We go to destroy." Maniacal laughter seemed to spurt out of the blonde artist, who was poking at a tiny clay dog set on top of a small white flower.

"Baaaaaaaaaang," Deidara whispered as the dog exploded. Shredded petals delicately drifted through the air. "Baaaaang…"

Preview:

_"We will restore his fountain of youth!"_

_"Itachi! What are you doing here?"_

_"You're NOT getting away with this!_

_"Stop, damn it! Don't you remember me?"_

_"Who the hell are you? Why…why am I hesitating?"_

_"SHIKAMARU!"_


	5. Chapter 5: Shadow Beasts

A/N: Again, my excuse is school and writer's block. And the fact that I've been busy reading ff and watching youtube. And I know there's not much ShikaTema yet, but NO FEAR! I shall get it done! (of course, this will be tough as I've converted to ShikaSaku. But I'll pull it off just for you guys)

PS- I love when you guys review. Inferiority has always been an issue for me, and reading reviews about how much you like my stuff LITERALLY makes me feel warm and fuzzy. It's awesome motivation. THANK YOU!

------------

**Chouji**

_Shikamaru, why did this happen to you? It was bad enough with Sasuke, but now __**you're**__ gone. Sasuke betrayed us, which was bad enough, but he never tried to kill us. Well, except Naruto. But you said that would have happened anyway because they were both so troublesome that way._

_Man…why you? Sasuke left, but you were taken. Sasuke didn't bother looking for us, but you attacked us. Sasuke was still Sasuke, but you…you're not you anymore. If we brought you back, you'd kill us, wouldn't you? _

_Temari says your eyes were sad that day. Were you? Did you miss us? _

_You're my best friend. You were always there for me. You saved me, and now it's my turn._

_-----------------_

**Ino**

_Shikamaru, I'll kill you! How could you do this? Why did you let that bastard remove your memories? Don't you want to remember us? Remember ME? God, you idiot…what the hell were you thinking? I swear; I'm going to knock some sense into you the next time I see you! I'll MAKE you remember me, damn it!_

_…Please, Shikamaru. I miss you. Please come back…_

----------------

Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji watched the younger nins quietly. Neji was attending to a flustered Hinata while Lee was busy discussing something with Naruto and Sakura. Tenten sat by Temari, eyeing the Sand girl with a hint of pity. She looked lost, Tenten decided. Lost and confused. Despite her belonging to a different village, Temari had been…close to the Nara. Closer than one would expect.

"YOSH!" Lee declared, startling the others. "We shall find Nara-kun as soon as possible!"

"And then?" Shino said rather dryly.

"And then—" Lee paused dramatically. "We will restore his fountain of youth!" Tenten cracked a feeble smile, while Naruto laughed weakly. _Lee, you moron…_

---------------

**Sakura**

_That's Lee-san for you. Always the optimist. I hate to think it, but I don't think there's even a chance of restoring Shikamaru's "fountain of youth". He's not Shikamaru anymore, he's Kagemaru. He's not one of us. He's one of them._

_He can't come back. Shishou said reversal of the JaeSaeng was impossible. It complete destroys the specific memories in the brain. There would be no way to reverse it unless we directly implanted copies of the memo-_

_I'm a genius._

_------------------_

**Naruto**

_Right on, Fuzzy Brows! We'll find Shikamaru and beat him until he says "troublesome"! Those Akatsuki bastards! First they (Itachi) ruin Sasuke's life, then they try to get me, then they KILL Gaara, now it's Shikamaru? I don't think so! I'll stop them even if I die! Shikamaru! You're coming back, dattebayo!_

_…Sakura-chan has that "I'm a freaking genius" look. I'm getting scared, dattebayo..._

-----------------

"Someone's in Konoha!" Neji said sharply. His pale eyes were surrounded by thick, tendril-like veins. "Someone with a lot of chakra." Sasuke leapt up, glancing at Tsunade for approval. She returned the glare and turned away. Sasuke opened the window and leapt out, followed by Naruto, Temari, Sakura, Ino, and Shino.

They continued into the forest until they were blocked by a rather vicious black lizard with glowing red eyes. It snarled at them, snapping its jaws, as thick drool seemed to erupt from its mouth. The foggy stench of death surrounded it, the plants rotting around it. Ino gagged with disgust, retching as she clutched at the bandages tight around her stomach. Sakura grabbed her arm protectively.

"Heeeeeeeeey!" Ino looked up to see her former teammate standing on the thing's head. "You're alive! Damn, you must have good medics." Suddenly he was in front of her, smiling. Sudden pain in her legs, Ino crashed into the tree, blood spraying out of her mouth. Sakura sped towards her only to be flung backwards into Shino, who caught her easily. Uchiha Itachi landed gracefully on the branch protruding from Ino's tree.

"Itachi!" Sasuke roared. "What are you doing here?"

"Foolish brother," Itachi murmured. "You turned away from the path of hatred."

"I turned away from the path of murderers!" the younger Uchiha spat. "That's what you are! A freaking homicidal psychopath!"

"Agreed!" Kagemaru said cheerfully. "But at least he's not stupid like Deidara!" Itachi shot him a nasty look. "Ooh, _spoooooooky_."

"Shikamaru!" Temari called. Kagemaru blinked at her. _She looks…familiar. Hm. Do I know her?_

"Do I know you?" He watched the stunned expression on the unfamiliar kunoichi's face. "Guess not. Well, it won't matter when you're dead." The dark reptile roared and dove at her. She pulled her fan out, screaming; "Kamaitachi!" Wind shot out at the foul creature, blasting it upwards. Shino raised his arm and pointed; a cloud of insects rushed towards the beast and attacked. Kagemaru watched in morbid fascination as it shrieked in pain, flicking his hand to make it fade into nothingness.

"Can I?" He looked expectantly at Itachi.

"You know the answer," the older man replied coldly. Kagemaru grinned, clapping his hands together. He then rapidly performed lightning-fast hand seals and muttered something under his breath. Instantly black beasts with glowing eyes seemed to wrench themselves out of the trees, shrieking inhumanely. Sakura gasped, stepping back as one came too close.

"What the hell are these?" Naruto yelled, his eyes beginning to flush red.

"These are the mononoke of shadows," Kagemaru answered quietly. Something blazed in his eyes as the monsters ripped free of the confining shadows, snarling and shrieking with bloodlust. "Your death."

One –shaped like a monstrous black deer— charged at Naruto, who dodged. Unfortunately, Shino didn't. There was a sickening crunch as the bug-user was smashed against a tree, his dark glasses falling limply to the soft forest floor. He groaned, spitting out dark fluid as he sank to his knees. The beast snorted with disgust, breathing heavily on the half-conscious teen.

"Shino!" Sakura shrieked. Temari jumped down, fan spread wide as Ino tackled Itachi weakly. The killer managed to swing himself back up, grabbing Ino's throat as he did so. The girl choked, clawing desperately at his cold hands.

"Bastard!" Naruto yelled. "You're NOT getting away with this!"

"So foolish…" Itachi sighed, flinging the blonde at the Kyuubi. He caught her and ducked as a kunai went flying at his face. Kagemaru scowled.

"He dodged," he muttered with irritation. He clasped his hands together and closed his eyes, as if praying. Black tendrils curled out of the shadows, clawing at the teenagers. Temari had managed to get Shino onto her fan and was gliding through the air. Shino had fallen slack against her, blood trickling out of his mouth. She figured his ribs were broken, along with maybe an arm. The Sand nin watched in horror as the Leaf nin were wrapped into shadow and slowly pulled down.

"Noooo!" Sasuke screamed, struggling madly as he clawed at his brother. "What are you doing to us?"

"You'll know when you get there." Kagemaru smiled. "Although I doubt you'll survive the experience." Temari gritted her teeth as she flew towards them. She'd had enough.

"Stop!" she cried, bitter tears pouring out. "Stop, damn it!" Kagemaru opened an eye, looking down at her.

"Don't make me kill you too," he snarled. Ino was suddenly pulled down with a high-pitched shriek, flailing her arms desperately as she sank into the darkness. Temari leapt off her fan and tackled the surprised shadow user, pinning him to a tree.

"I told you to stop, damn it! Don't you remember me?" Kagemaru blinked as hot tears cascaded down the girl's face, drowning the front of his cloak. He noticed the Konoha shinobi were breaking his jutsu but found himself unwilling to kill the stranger.

_Who the hell are you? Why…why am I hesitating?_ Questions swam through his head as he laid there, the sandy-haired girl on top of him with angry tears raining onto him.

_Move._ Kagemaru obeyed his summon, kicking the girl and flying upwards onto another branch. The girl landed on her fan harshly, almost knocking the boy with the hood off. She looked up at him with…bitterness? Resentment? Anger?

_No._ Sorrow. Regret. Pity. And…guilt?

"Kagemaru," Itachi said softly. "Do you wish to leave?" He had noticed the confused expression on his apprentice's face and understood the effects of the jutsu had not fully settled in. if he was not careful, he might actually be able to recreate his own memories.

His head was spinning madly. Pictures. There were pictures. Full of people he didn't know. A smiling woman, a man with an eyepatch, a girl—that purple girl! And chubby! What the hell? These Konoha ninja…_Why are they in my head?_ A name. Ringing in his ears. So loud…_But why can't I hear it?_

"Kagemaru," Itachi repeated. The boy looked up at him with angry, bewildered eyes.

"Get me out of here," he growled through gritted teeth. Itachi swept him up bridal style and faded away. The shadows returned to normality and the hulking beasts died into the darkness with foreboding shrieks.

"Itachi!" Sasuke bellowed, clawing at the air wildly as if invisioning the older man taunting him.

"Snap out of it, Uchiha!" Temari yelled, tearing her eyes away form where Shikamaru had been moments ago. "Why don't you help your girlfriend or something?" He looked down to see Sakura, pale and trembling. The pink-haired girl shakily ducked her head and retched. Naruto propped Ino against the tree, rubbing white cream over the scratches and muttering to her softly. Shino was still sprawled out on the fan, unmoving.

"Damn it," Temari whispered, scowling into the dark, forbidding shadows withing the forest. "_Damn it._"

-------------------------

Lee and Tenten arrived to find the teens battered and bloody. Lee had immediately insisted on carrying the two girls, pointing out he would get there faster. Sasuke grudgingly handed over his traumatized girlfriend, watching the pink and silver disappear in a blur of green.

------------------------

**Sasuke**

_I'm pathetic._

_-----------------------------_

**Temari**

_Shikamaru...no, Kagemaru. I'll find you. And when I do, I'll beat every bloody memory you've lost into that lazy head of yours. Bastard, you think I'll let you get away with making me cry?_

_You wish._

_------------------------------_

Itachi watched as Kagemaru twitched, clawing at the wall with burning madness. Kisame sat beside him, leaning against his sword in boredom. A sudden crash brought him sharply back to reality; Kagemaru stood unsteadily with a broken picture crushed beneath his foot.

_Kagami._

_Yes?_

_Stop it._

_Stop it? _The silvery lizard blinked. _Stop what?_

_The clouds!_ Kagemaru hissed in his mind. _Get rid of the damn clouds! _Oh. Kagami shifted, his scales blending into pitch black. Kagemaru sighed in relief and let himself drop to the floor, clutching at his forehead.

"Anathema is settling in," Itachi muttered to Kisame out o fthe corner of his mouth. Kisame gave him a wide, predatory grin. The Anathema Effect: a psychological change causing the mind to reject what it once held dear. In short, love becomes consuming hatred.

"I want to kill," Kagemaru growled quietly. "Konoha…the name makes me want to throw up. I need to destroy it." The older nins watched with amusement and pleasure as the teenager continued muttering to himself.

Konoha…

_Your time is done. _

* * *

In case you don't know, mononoke means ghost/specter. In manga, they're usually a monstrous beast. (look at Princess Mononoke or Inuyasha) 


	6. Chapter 6: Destruction

A/N: Aaaaaack! I'm sorry for not updating! Forgive me! Don't kill me, kill Deidara! AHEM. Look on the bright side, it's an extra long chapter! -cha cha-

PS- Yesterday (June 13th) was my BIRTHDAY! I'm one year closer to dying! RAHR!!!! XD

* * *

"Anathema has settled in," Itachi stated clearly, his cool voice echoing dramatically. "We should be able to let him go in an hour."

"What if they catch him? Or he's killed or something?" Deidara shot out, his ponytail whipping out as he turned. It slapped Kisame in the face, who growled quietly. "That could ruin _everything_, yeah."

"The brat's never failed when he gets serious," Kisame snapped as he rubbed his fish-like face. "He'll destroy them."

"No, he won't." They turned to Zetsu. "He only wishes to destroy the village, he has no use for the inhabitants." He licked his lips, imagining the feast of blood and flesh that waited.

"But he'll kill some of the ninjas," Kisame put in. "Kyuubi will be ours, and you can finish the rest." Deidara cackled, rubbing his hands together in glee.

"Boooooooom!"

-----------

"We have to somehow capture him." Shino hid his face beneath his hood, his broken shades in the trash. "And recreate his memories."

"I could implant artificial memories –based on his real ones of course—if we could get him still for about ten minutes," Sakura informed them. She sat on the windowsill, her arms visibly shaking as Sasuke wrapped an arm around her waist comfortingly. She flashed him a weak smile.

"Or—" Ino interrupted. "We could just pool all of _our_ memories of him and get him to see it. Like, I don't know, pictures or homemade movies?"

"That's a good idea!" Naruto yelled enthusiastically.

"But how do we get close enough to force the memories _in_?" Sasuke snarled venomously. "Those mononoke things were massive; not to mention he has the entire Akatsuki for backup." His dark eyes blazed with fury, his grip on Sakura tightening slightly.

"Sakura, what are symptoms of the JaeSaeng?" Temari probed. Sakura closed her eyes.

"Amnesia, weakness, personality changes, mood swings, anathema-" Her eyes snapped open in alarm. "Oh, _God no._"

"Anathema?" Ino croaked. "Isn't that, like, when you hate everything you used to love?" Sakura pulled at her pink hair in horrified realization.

"He'll come back. He may have been a lazy bum, but he cared about the village. He'll destroy _everything!_"

"That's not it." They turned to Temari. The Sand nin looked back with sorrowful eyes. "He had people he cared about, didn't he? Specifically, friends, family, _teammates_." Ino and Chouji looked at each other.

"So you're saying we're targets?" Ino said weakly. "That's not possible."

"Isn't it?" Kiba muttered. "You were the first one he attacked, weren't you?" Ino was silent as Chouji pulled her into a one-armed hug, his other hand pulling the hospital blanket around her thin frame.

"We need to evacuate the citizens," Sasuke said coolly. His words were calm, but his eyes glowed with tension. "If Shikamaru comes, they won't stand a chance. Only ninja should remain."

"Where will we send them?" Hinata said.

"Suna," Temari suggested. "It's far, but with some escorts they should be able to make it."

"Agreed," Shino said quietly. They all nodded, Sakura leaving to tell Tsunade their plan. Temari sank into her chair, resting her head on her fan.

_Why is this happening? Damn it! We need a way to lure him here. Well, he'll probably come anyway, since he's going to be under anathema. We could use the run as bait, since Akatsuki's after him. But no…that's not a good idea. He could end up like Gaara. Way too risky._

"Temari?" The girl looked up to see Tenten.

"Uh, yeah?" she quickly stuttered, embarrassed. She must have looked weird staring into space. Tenten smiled sadly.

"Do you want to stay with us?" Temari blinked as Tenten continued. "You were close with Nara-kun, so maybe…I don't know, do you know anything about him?" Temari snorted.

"He's lazy. He's boring. He like clouds. He's a genius. And…" she glared out the window. "I've never beaten him in a fight."

-----------

"Let me out!" Kagemaru roared, banging on the wall furiously. His fist bled where it had collided with stone, spraying onto his face. Kagami winced as his master continued to scream in rage. Kisame glanced over at the mass of hardened clay, watching as it throbbed from the angry punches.

"Shouldn't we let him out?" he probed. Itachi shook his head.

"He'll get to Konoha and kill the Kyuubi before we can stop him," the Uchiha said coldly. "We still need _all_ the jinchuuriki."

"Meh!" the shark-man scoffed. "You really think the Kage-brat can kill him?" Itachi turned to him, his eyes red.

"You doubt my teachings?" Kisame shuddered inwardly as Itachi's eyes spun dangerously.

"Nope."

-----------

"All right, some of the older shinobi are escorting the civilians and genins to Suna. We'll stay here to get ready for Shi – Kagemaru." Sakura's eyes glimmered sorrowfully as she said the new name. It felt strange in her mouth, like a forbidden taste. Ino opened her mouth to say something when a violent explosion burst through the air.

Naruto bolted towards the window and immediately cursed. Temari followed and realized why.

An angry, ragged Kagemaru was breathing harshly as he stood atop a demolished home. His decorated cloak was heavily ripped, his eyes wild beneath his tangled hair. Blood was smeared on his face and his fist bled heavily. Looming behind him was the great mountain, each Hokage's face crumbling into oblivion.

"Shika-" Suddenly Kagemaru was in front of them, his hand on Naruto's face. A black blast of energy launched the teen backwards, crashing through walls.

"Naruto!" Chouji yelled. Kagemaru turned towards him, his eyes dark with hate. Black tendrils of shadow curled towards his former best friend.

"Chouji!" Ino shoved him away. "We need to split up!"

"Sakura, take Ino!" Sasuke shouted. "Chouji, you take Shino, everyone split up!" Instantly they were gone, leaving a furious Akatsuki apprentice.

-----------

Kagemaru wandered aimlessly, going through houses and destroying anything he could find. This latest one seemed oddly familiar, but he couldn't place it. He stopped in front of a dresser, which supported two framed pictures; one was a family of three while the other was a genin team and their sensei. He blinked down and realized two of the kids in the team picture were form earlier, Blondie and Chubby. Between them was a bored looking kid… _Me?_ _The hell…_ Above was a rugged man with a cigarette poking out between his lips. On the other photo was the same lazy-looking kid and what Kagemaru assumed were his parents. His eyes were drawn to the woman in the photo…_Yoshino_ echoed through his head. Sudden fury rushed through, as if replacing the blood in his veins, and he smashed both pictures.

"Damn…" He clutched at his forehead, growling. "What the hell is happening?" Kagami stayed silent, sliding down his master's arm to his throat. Kagemaru stiffened, relaxing as he recognized the cool touch. He raised his hands into position, performing hand signs, and snarled, _"Burn." _The house burst into flame as soon as he stepped out, fuming.

-----------

_Shikamaru's house_, Ino thought sadly as she witnessed the home go up in angry flames. Sakura's eyes darkened with sorrow as Ino continued to stare, the roaring fire reflected in her haunted eyes.

"Ino," she said softly. Ino blinked and looked at her. "Ino, we need to get farther so I can heal you."

"Sure…" the blonde replied softly, her eyes distant as she stared into the flames. "What about…?" Sakura swallowed. _Not good_. The shock of things was messing with Ino's mind, not that she could blame her.

"We'll get him back," she promised, her heart crumbling with sick desperateness as Ino turned to her, the blue eyes shimmering with tears.

"Promise?" Ino whispered. Sakura nodded, taking Ino's hand to lead her into the forest.

"Promise."

-----------

Kagemaru looked up at the huge mountain, taking in its awesome height. The faces had been carved well, to the very last detail. Too bad he'd already destroyed them. He glanced at the gate, where the Konoha crest was etched. Scowling, he raised his arms, eyes glowing with ferocity as he began forming seals.

"No!" someone yelled. He turned to see the blonde boy running at him, a swirling blue sphere spinning in his hand as a bunshin vanished. "_Rasengan!_" Kagemaru leapt, watching the sphere decimate the house he had been standing in front of mere seconds ago.

"Nice," he drawled, landing easily upon the rubble. "Very nice." He glanced at the furious Kyuubi. "But it lacks direction, judging from the way you have to actually _throw _it at someone, which will give a moving opponent an advantage. And since you had a bunshin, it looks like you have to have a fair amount of concentration – and chakra – to use that jutsu. Still, it _was_ pretty impressive. The spiral motion digs into objects and it would most likely affect the chakra system considerably. A clean shot could kill a person"

Naruto gritted his teeth as Kagemaru quickly analyzed the _rasengan _easily, forcibly reminding him of Shikamaru. _But he's not Shikamaru anymore_, he reminded himself. _He'll kill everyone._

"Why did you come here?" Naruto yelled. Kagemaru smirked, the light wind brushing his hair back.

"Well, I realized I promised to kill you all…what, three times? It's polite to keep promises you know." Kagemaru smiled genially, although his fingers visibly twitched with the longing to kill. Naruto swallowed and stepped back, his eyes glowing red.

"Is that it?" he snarled, the whiskers on his face widening as his pupils dilated into thin streaks. "You don't remember anything? Shikamaru?" His voice was now darker, threatening to break into the beast behind the eyes. Kagemaru closed his eyes and sighed.

"How many times must I tell you?" His eyes darkened and for a moment he was terrifying, darkness swirling around him as the wind blew his hair up so they waved like tendrils of shadow. "My name is _Kagemaru_."

Shadows shot at Naruto, who flew up into the air to avoid it, faintly orange chakra glowing over his body. He dove down at Kagemaru, who leapt backwards and threw a kunai. Naruto flashed away from it, reappearing behind Kagemaru and slashing at him fiercely. Kagemaru fell, his face sporting four bloody streaks reaching from his left cheek to his eye. The jinchuuriki sped by and punched him in the face, his lip bursting, and he collided into the hard earth. Kagemaru gasped, blood trickling down his chin. Cursing, the teen knelt and bit fiercely into his wrist. Naruto's crimson eyes widened as blood gushed out of his opponent's flesh.

"What are you doing?" Naruto yelled, horrified. He streaked over and grabbed the bleeding wrist. "Stop!" Naruto knelt, wrapping his fingers around the wound desperately. Kagemaru looked up at him, giving him a bloody smile before stabbing a kunai into Naruto's arm. The latter yelped as the hard metal sank into his flesh, blood pouring out. Kagemaru wrenched his hand out of Naruto's grip and brought together their wounds, hissing something under his breath. Their blood mixed, glowing a powerful red before dulling into scarlet. Kagemaru briefly smirked before allowing himself to ease into unconsciousness.

"Idiot!" Naruto swore. "What the hell were you—" Their mixed blood trickled down to the ground, staining into deep black. The black drops liquefied and grew into large ripples, as if someone had thrown a stone into a pool of earth. Naruto watched in mortification as hulking mounds of liquid black bubbled into open mouths and hunks of disgusting black flesh.

"Naruto!" someone yelled. He turned his head to see Kiba and Hinata running to him, both looking bewildered. Naruto opened his mouth to reply when a mass of shadow cut him off, tearing at his face. Hinata screamed, rushing forward. Kiba held her back, crying out.

"Get out of there, you idiot!" the Inuzuka roared. Naruto yelled back, "But he's-!" The other two then saw Kagemaru, lying unconscious in Naruto's arms, still bleeding heavily. _Shit! _Kiba dove forward, his sandals smearing against the bloody circle painted on the ground. The _things_ immediately attacked him, long teeth scraping against him, claws raking his body, blood streaming out. He tried to fight back, but his hands and weapons sliced at nothing but air. _I can't touch them. They're shadows; I cant touch them but they can touch me._ For some reason that pissed him off.

Then he realized; they didn't actually give a damn about him. They were angry because he was interrupting their meal. Kagemaru had summoned them for a suicide attack. That was why he had mixed blood, so those freaks would kill both of them. Clever bastard.

Hinata seemed to understand as well, for she was slowly circling them, trying to find a weak link. Her eyes lit up with realization and she quietly formed hand seals. _"Kuroyami no Jutsu." _Instantly it was pitch black; Kiba could only see himself and the other ninja. He more felt than heard the shadowed things crawl back into the earth, Hinata's soft voice explaining: "There can't be shadows without light." As soon as the last of the bubbling ebbed away, she whispered _"Kai"_ and the darkness faded to reveal Naruto desperately shaking the limp Kagemaru, on his knees with blood pooling around them. Hinata rushed forward and placed her hands on Kagemaru's bloody wrist, quietly healing him. Kiba wrapped an exploding tag around a kunai and threw it into the sky, where it exploded. In a few seconds the other Rookie 9 arrived.

"What the hell _happened?_" Sakura gasped, bending over to help Hinata.

"He tried to do a suicide attack," Kiba growled shortly. Chouji swore, still supporting Shino. Temari bit down on her lip, trying not to tear whilst comparing the four Shikamaru's. Shikamaru One was hateful, with lonely eyes. Shikamaru Two was cheerful and politely wanted to kill everyone he met. Shikamaru Three lay before her, pale and bloody. And Shikamaru Four…Shikamaru Four was lazy, smart, and dead. He was gone.

-----------

Kagemaru opened his eyes to see the girl with the silvery blonde hair looking down at him. He immediately tried to lash out, only to realize couldn't touch her thanks to a seal seared onto his hands. He glanced over them and decided the maker of the seal was most likely the Hyuuga. Wait. Hyuuga? Is that a clan? _How the hell do I know this?_ The girl reached for him, trying to touch his face. He immediately recoiled, gritting his teeth and thrashing wildly. She pulled back, startled, and he immediately calmed.

"Do you know who I am?" she said softly. Kagemaru glared at her emptily before responding.

"Should I?" he spat. She sighed sadly and sat quietly.

"I thought that you might recognize this place." He looked up and realized he was lying in a grassy field with clouds swirling above him. He cringed and whipped his cloak above his head to shield himself from the beautiful sky. The chubby teen looked unhappy, as did the others.

"Shik-"

"What the HELL is with you people?" Kagemaru burst out. "I don't know this Shikamaru, I've never heard of him, and _I am NOT him!"_ There was stunned silence in which Kagemaru angrily glowered at the Hyuuga, wondering how to kill her and get rid of the seal. The scruffy boy with the dog sidestepped to block her form his view.

"Kagemaru," the pink-haired girl tried again. "Do you remember anything before these past few days?" Kagemaru blinked. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know anything about himself. He didn't even know if he liked certain foods, or if he had allergies. Hell, he didn't even know his favorite color. Although he could probably choose one for himself…

"No," he said carefully to avoid revealing too much information. "I don't."

"Do you want to?"

Kagemaru gaped at her as she explained. She was Tsunade's – _am I supposed to know who the hell that is?_ – apprentice and she had a theory that she could restore his lost memories.

"Why would you?" he sneered. "Isn't this fraternizing with the enemy?"

"You're not our enemy," the Uchiha spoke up. "You're our friend." At this, Kagemaru burst out laughing, letting himself fall onto the soft grass.

"That's just funny," he murmured, more to himself than to the others. "And you expect me to believe you?"

"No," the other blonde girl said. "But we're going to _make_ you." He gazed at her admiringly, taking in the fierce beauty and the stubborn eyes.

"Sorry gorgeous, but you're not doing _anything_ to me." He sighed. "How troublesome… I guess I'll just wait for Itachi and Kisame to come."

-----------

Temari's heart had jumped when he looked at her, but felt disappointment at his refusal to regain his memories. _Sorry **gorgeous**…_ For some reason her heart seemed to jolt when she heard his voice saying those words to her. As she mused over the recent happenings, Ino was angrily stressing over Kagemaru's stubbornness.

"Doesn't he want to know _anything?_" she practically screamed. "That lazy bum!" She suddenly fell back into depression, realizing her words. _Shikamaru! Get up! You're such a lazy bum!_

"Don't blame him." They looked over at Ino to see Shikamaru's silvery lizard resting on her shoulder. His scales reflected the pure sky as he shifted comfortably. "The boy has gone through hell; this is his only comfort."

"Who are you?" Naruto said, poking him to his great annoyance. The lizard hissed before replying to the rude question.

"My _name_, brat, is Kagami. I am the boy's summon. He is my only master, and I will die for him."

"Kagami-san, why did Shikamaru want to 'die'?" Sakura probed. Kagami sighed.

"When Itachi kidnapped Shikamaru, ANBU was sent to rescue him. Itachi killed them easily. One of the last ones tried to hit Itachi but he dodged, resulting in Shikamaru's voice problem." He tapped at Ino's throat with his tail for emphasis. "It shocked him, being hurt by his fellow shinobi. And then, of course, Itachi tried to bring him into their little club. He resisted Itachi's offer at first, hoping you would rescue him. He asked for you when he slept. He especially cried for 'Chouji' and 'Ino'. But most of all, he would ask for his mother, even going as far to scream her name. But of course…" he eyed them coldly. "You never came."

"He gave in. He was broken, believing you had turned your backs on him. He would occasionally attempt to escape but stopped after he realized he was truly alone. His initiation was to kill a group of Konoha ninjas. After that he seriously began to work as an Akatsuki, all the while praying you would come, even if it were to kill him."

"But you didn't. You can't imagine how bitter he became. He attempted suicide many times until Itachi actually started sleeping in the same room. Something about him just made him stop. He cried for you again, but differently. He began cursing Konoha in his dreams, sometimes waking up and strategizing how to kill certain people. Itachi was pleased."

"In the end, seeing you was too much for him. It crushed him to see that you had turned away, and now you desperately wanted him back. So he gave into Itachi's suggestion of the JaeSaeng, hoping that either he would wander back to the village and have a new life or be killed by those he cherished. It looks like he ended with the latter."

The ninjas gaped at the summon, wondering how Shikamaru could survive such an experience. Temari recovered first, asking, "Could you show us?" Kagami blinked.

"Show you…?"

"Yeah, exactly what happened and when. If we could find out what happened to him, maybe we could spark the memories back by rehearsing or telling him some of the events." Kagami looked at her briefly.

"I will show you and two others."

"Me," Sakura said. "I need to see what happened so I can try to treat him."

"I want to!" Ino begged. "Please!" Kagami glanced at the others, who showed no objections.

"Very well," he sighed. "Touch me." They obliged and suddenly they fell, unconscious. Sasuke bent over Sakura, worry evident as Kagami whispered, "Welcome to hell."

A/N: I'm debating whether to make it a happy ending or a tragedy. Hm…I'll let your vote decide!


	7. Chapter 7: Field of Plans

A/N: Yes, I know it's short. But I wanted to update before people thought I'd died or something. Currently debating how long I want to make it, 'cause I have a prequel in mind... I need your encouragement, people!! ENCOURAGE ME!!!!!!

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Sasuke watched as Sakura slept, her twitching and muttering the only signs of abnormality. He turned his coal-colored eyes to Kagami and gave him a look that clearly said, _If anything goes wrong I'll kill you._ Kagami simply rolled his ruby eyes and returned his attention to the unconscious Temari.

Chouji stood guard over Kagemaru forlornly, occasionally sharing a potato chip with the surprisingly eager Akatsuki member. He wondered why the other Akatsuki hadn't attacked yet, why Kagemaru seemed so calm in the grass with his cloak pulled over his eyes. It was unnerving, the way he lay there so still with his face lifted up, a shadow of a smile on his lips. He looked just like Shikamaru, dreaming beneath the clouds in his Paradisical little field. Of course, Shikamaru would be grinning at him and complaining about his mother. Not shielding his eyes from the sky and muttering about Uchiha Itachi.

"No!" Sakura shot up and began hyperventilating, choking and gasping for air. Sasuke pulled her into a crushing embrace just as Ino came to, rolling over and violently vomiting.

"Ino!" Kiba yelped in alarm. Temari bolted up and nearly attacked Shino, who was nearest, until she realized she had been pulled back to reality. Relieved, the Sand-nin collapsed onto the soft grass where she groaned and covered her face with her hands.

"Oh _god_," she whispered softly. Sakura shuddered and pulled Sasuke closer, as if scared he would slip away. Ino quietly flopped back onto the ground, trembling with horror and weakness.

"Are you all right?" Shino asked quietly.

"It was horrible," Sakura murmured. Her green eyes shimmered with pain. "_Horrible._"

"I would have killed myself in three days," Ino gasped out. Her sapphire eyes squuezed shut. "He was there for two _years_."

"What happened?" Kiba urged, unable to contain his curiosity. He could taste raw anger mixed with horror seeping from the girls' bodies. Hinata blinked and touched his arm gently, motioning for him to be quiet.

"He killed all of those -- ugh!" Ino shuddered. "I can't believe _Shikamaru_ could -- could just --" There was silence as the three girls glanced over at Kagemaru, who had sat up to inspect a yellow flower.

"All those men and women," Sakura croaked. "He killed them all."

"And he _counted_ them," Temari growled quietly. "Only an idiot like him would do that."

"He killed? _Shikamaru_?" Kiba said incredulously. "Look, I know he changed, but--"

"Five hundred thirty-eight." Ino said. She lowered her eyes as Kiba gaped at her. "He killed five hundred thirty-eight people."

--

"Why are they looking at me like that?" Kagemaru asked. The chubby guy -- _Chouji_ -- shrugged.

"They're probably discussing how to beat your memories into your brain," he suggested. The other boy snickered and returned his gaze to the dandelion in his hand. Chouji wondered if his reaction to flowers was because of the times they'd gone to pick up Ino from her parents' store. Shikamaru had known the symbolism of every flower, much to the surprise of Ino. Chouji wondered if he still did.

"What's her name?" Kagemaru said abruptly.

"Huh?"

"Her _name_." Kagemaru nodded pointedly towards the girls. Chouji looked over at the group with bewilderment.

"Which one?"

"The blonde," Kagemaru decided.

"Which blonde?"

"The hot one." Chouji would have burst out laughing if it were any other scenario. Any other situation, and this would be hilarious. Too bad it wasn't any other situation.

"You need to be specific."

"The Sand kunoichi." Kagemaru blinked when he realized he'd known something he didn't know. _Does that even make sense?_

"Oh." Chouji smirked sadly. "That would be Temari."

"Is she older?"

"Yeah, by two years. How did you--"

"The way she looks at everyone, she feels she's responsible. The way she looks specifically at the blonde boy shows that she knows someone similar to him, maybe another jinchuuriki. The way she moves shows she's cautious and anticipate's the enemy's movement, likely a tactician. Her commanding personality says she's likely the older sibling of at least two, most likely males."

Chouji's eyes widened at the accurate analysis, nodding.

"Yeah, her youngest brother _was_ a jinchuuriki, and she has another brother. And she's a really good strategist, she fought against y--" he corrected himself quickly, "against Shikamaru in the Chuunin exams."

"This Shikamaru guy...he was like me?" Chouji almost laughed at the question. _He WAS you!!! _he screamed in his mind. _You ARE Shikamaru!!!_

"Yeah." A lot like you.

"Hm." Kagemaru twisted the flower through his fingers before cleanly -- almost surgically -- peeling the petals off one by one.

"Troublesome."

--

"Ok, ok, ok," Naruto muttered to himself. "It's only been about two days, right? So that gives us a chance to make him Shikamaru again, right?" He looked at Sakura hopefully. The pinkette forced herself to nod.

"The only problem is, it's going to take a complex jutsu to replicate his memories and implant them into his brain. I don't have enough experience to do that. I could kill him."

"He wants to die," Shino said tonelessly. "Perhaps it would put him at ease." Ino swerved angrily at his comment.

"Are you saying we should just kill him and forget about him!" the blonde snarled venomously.

"No," Shino said calmly. "I'm just saying that the last time we checked, Shikamaru did not seem to care for his life." There was a moment of silent thought.

"He's right, you know," Kiba finally said. "Shikamaru wanted us to kill him."

"We'd be doing what he wants us to..."

"NO!" Temari yelled, loud enough to jolt everyone out of their thoughts. "I don't _care_ what he wanted! He's coming back whether he likes it or not! And if he's unhappy with that, fine! Let him go on a suicide mission or something! But we are _not_ abandoning Shikamaru! Not this time!"

Her angry speech brought a vague smile to Kagemaru's face.

"She's a troublesome woman, eh?" He looked up at Chouji, waiting for an answer. Chouji smiled at the distant memory.

_"Meh. Troublesome woman."_

"Yeah."


	8. Chapter 8: The Plan

A/N: Be very, very happy.

…and don't kill me. (ducks)

--

--

Kagemaru yawned, stretching languidly as he settled on the prickly grass. He had removed his cloak -- what idiot wore a black cloak 24/7 on a sunny day? Oh right, Itachi -- to reveal a plain black shirt with fishnet over it and dark pants. He glanced over at Chouji, who was sleeping lightly. Kagemaru grinned and reached over for the potato chip bag, intending to make off with some food when a sudden spark of chakra blew his hand backwards.

"KAMI!" the teen shrieked, startled by the sudden blast of pain. "What the hell --?" Chouji sat up and grinned sheepishly.

"I forgot to tell you, huh? Hinata did a jutsu on you so your chakra would react negatively if you touched any of us."

"So I can't touch you, but you can touch me?" Chouji nodded in response, tossing over the bag of chips. Kagemaru caught it, growling at the raw feeling in his sore hand. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the palest girl, sneering when the boy with the dog subtly shifted, blocking her from his view.

"Damn it..._so troublesome!_" Kagemaru groaned. He fell back hard, still grumbling beneath his breath. He turned his head to Chouji, shoving a chip into his mouth. "So, what the heck's going to happen now? I mean, your village is pretty much destroyed, so..."

"I guess we'll be working on putting your memories back," Chouji shrugged.

"What if I don't want them?" Kagemaru snapped. "What if I'm happy?" Chouji looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you?" No. No, he wasn't happy. He was angry, he was in pain and damn it, he was _confused_. And for some reason, he kept feeling like there was something familiar about Chouji and the purple girl. Before he could answer though, Temari stalked over.

"Chouji!" she barked out. "Go over and listen to the plan. I'll watch him." Chouji nodded and trodded off towards the others. Temari towered over Kagemaru, eyes narrowed. The younger nin grinned up at her carelessly.

"Hey!" he said cheerfully. "So you guys going to kill me or what?"

"Or what," Temari said, still glaring at him. Kagemaru raised an eyebrow.

"Is there a _reason_ I feel intense hatred?" he quipped innocently.

"No!" Temari snapped. She sat down grudgingly, her eyes still on him. Kagemaru grinned.

"Like what you see?" The girl didn't answer, although a light blush rose on her cheeks. Kagemaru grinned.

"We're going to get Shikamaru back." That wiped his smirk off instantly.

"You say that like we're different people."

"You are," Temari said. "Shikamaru was lazy, smart, and self-sacrificing."

"And I'm not?"

"You are, but you don't have anything you fight for. You kill because it's all you know. He killed to save people."

"I see…" Kagemaru nodded. "I guess there _is_ a difference there. But then again, maybe that makes me a better ninja. I don't have any issues killing any_one_ or any_thing_." He grinned in triumph.

"You didn't kill _me_," Temari said softly. "Back in the forest."

**Flashback**

_Temari gritted her teeth as she flew towards them. She'd had enough._

_"Stop!" she cried, bitter tears pouring out. "Stop, damn it!" Kagemaru opened an eye, looking down at her._

_"Don't make me kill you too," he snarled. Ino was suddenly pulled down with a high-pitched shriek, flailing her arms desperately as she sank into the darkness. Temari leapt off her fan and tackled the surprised shadow user, pinning him to a tree._

_"I told you to stop, damn it! Don't you remember me?" Kagemaru blinked as hot tears cascaded down the girl's face, drowning the front of his cloak. He noticed the Konoha shinobi were breaking his jutsu but found himself unwilling to kill the stranger._

Who the hell are you? Why…why am I hesitating?_ Questions swam through his head as he laid there, the sandy-haired girl on top of him with angry tears raining onto him._

Move_. Kagemaru obeyed his summon, kicking the girl and flying upwards onto another branch. The girl landed on her fan harshly, almost knocking the boy with the hood off. She looked up at him with…bitterness? Resentment? Anger?_

No_. Sorrow. Regret. Pity. And…guilt?_

**End flashback**

"That was different," Kagemaru said. Temari raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"How? You don't remem- you don't _know_ me, so how is it different?"

"It just is, ok?" Kagemaru shouted. He sucked in fresh air and flopped back, ripping a flower out of the earth. "But don't worry — I'll kill all of you as soon as this jutsu wears off."

"Mhm." Temari murmured, lying back peacefully. "I'd like to see you try." Kagemaru scowled and plucked the flower's head off.

_Do not kill this bitch. Do not kill this arrogant bitch. A _hot_ bitch, but still a bitch. Do not kill the hot bitch._ "Tell me about this Shikamaru guy."

"He was lazy," was Temari's instant reply. "But smart. And he had this irritating mentality that women are troublesome."

"All women, or just women like you?" Kagemaru asked. Temari shrugged.

"Women like me, I guess. I doubt he thought someone like Hinata would be troublesome." Kagemaru raised an eyebrow at her.

"How _is_ that girl a ninja? She looks weak."

"She's not," Temari shot out. "She may not be a homicidal psychopath, but she can fight if she needs to. She's killed more than once."

"Ooh, I'm so scared," Kagemaru mocked. "What's she going to do, _poke _me to death?" Temari smirked.

"Something like that."

--

"So we're going to force him into a coma and stick mine and Chouji's memories into him?" Ino gaped at Sakura. The pink-haired girl muttered under her breath, "When you put it that way…"

"No!" the blonde burst out. "Forget it! Comas are bad! V-E-R-Y bad! What if he dies?"

"What if he lives?" Shino put in. "I doubt the Nara Shikamaru we knew will be too happy when he realizes the chaos he's created."

"Yeah, but…" Ino's voice faded as the others continued Shino's argument.

"It'd be better to kill him than to have him living in guilt," Sasuke suggested.

"Are you guys crazy?" Naruto yelled. "We can't KILL him!"

"ENOUGH!" Everyone stared at Hinata. "We should get Shikamaru-san back and see what _he_ wants. If he wants to live, let him live! If he wants to die, we'll kill him." She paused and flushed under the intent stared. "U-um, if that's ok with…"

"No, you're right," Sakura said gently. "We need to at least _try_ to get Shikamaru back. It wasn't his fault what happened." She swallowed hard.

Ino opened her mouth to protest but stopped, knowing she'd lost. Chouji sighed, running his hand against his forehead.

"This is all so wrong..."

**Next time:** The memory transfer! Will it work?


	9. Chapter 9: Memories of Someone

A/N: I am sooooo sorry for the lack of updates!! Please forgive me!!!

--

Kagemaru squirmed under the intense gazes, uncomfortable as Ino pricked her finger with a kunai. Damn it, he couldn't move, sealed to the ground like a tent.

"You don't have to do this," he tried to convince them. "I mean, what if I die? Bye-bye forever. Come on, you don't hate me _that _much, do you?" No answer. God, these guys were creepy. And troublesome. "Come one, please? I swear I won't kill you when you let me go."

Ino stepped forward and wrote on his forehead, with her blood, the kanji for _memory_. Chouji did the same, and Kagami pressed a tiny blood print as well. Kagemaru crossed his eyes, trying to see what they'd done.

"Ok, seriously, don't. I mean, I could die or go insane or blow up or –"

"Shut up," Temari snapped. He glared at her, muttering "_Troublesome_" under his breath.

"Ok, ready?" Sakura asked.

"No," Kagemaru muttered. The pink-haired girl took in a deep breath and began performing lightning-fast seals, latching her hands onto the sides of his face.

_Smiles. Laughs. Clouds. Metal clashing, blood spraying. Screaming._

_Chips, shogi, Asuma – Chouji – Ino – Kurenai – mom, dad – red eyes, blood-red eyes –_

_Uchiha Itachi._

He gasped, banging his head against dirt and retched, rolling over in the grass. Chouji stepped forward, concerned.

"Did it work?" he asked.

"Yes…" Kagemaru looked up painfully, his eyes swirling white. "And no."

--

---

"I have his memories," Kagemaru confirmed. "But that doesn't make me him. I mean, I'm another person. Just 'cause I'm not the original person doesn't mean I don't exist. Right?" He paused, squinting. "Are you Chouji?"

"Yeah," Chouji confirmed. His insides were snapping into pieces and crumbling into the pits of his stomach. It didn't work. _It didn't work._

Kagemaru absently rubbed at the scar on his neck, shuddering as he remembered how he – Shikamaru – had earned it. _Itachi_...Damned creep.

"I meet Itachi again, I think I'm going to kill him," he sighed. He glanced over at Chouji and smiled softly. "You guys were best friends, huh?" He looked up at the darkening sky. "Real close."

"Yeah," Chouji heard himself say. "I would have died for him."

"Yeah, he wasn't too happy about that," Kagemaru said. "I mean, it's cool and all, but I'm sure you don't need to die 'cause some fat rock-guy insulted your bff."

"Why do you say 'he'?" Chouji asked. "Are you really different?" Kagemaru shrugged.

"We are. I mean, I think we are. He's…someone. Me? I'm what you get when you erase that someone." He shrugged. "It's weird, but not too bad. Although I've confirmed Deidara is a complete moron." Chouji grinned and they both lay against the grass, Kagemaru fingering sleek strands of black hair.

"He was happy, you know," Kagemaru said suddenly. Chouji stared at him and he rolled his eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mean being stuck with the Akatsuki was a party, but he was kind of glad you guys didn't come. He didn't want you to die."

Chouji digested the information for a while.

"What about you? Do you want us to die?" Kagemaru stared at him for a long moment. He finally answered:

"I don't know."

--

"Yes and no," Sakura said glumly. "He's got the memories, but not the soul. He's not Shikamaru."

"Perfect," Ino sighed. "Anyone else feeling hopeless?" Temari glanced at her silently.

"Come on!" Naruto yelled. "We can't give up. If he's got Shikamaru's memories, maybe it'll…I don't know, maybe he'll take over or something."

"Sure," Sasuke muttered. Naruto shot him a glare. Hinata looked over at Kagemaru and murmured, "Poor Kagemaru. I wonder what it's like?" Temari looked too, her eyes soft as they grazed over the younger one. Suddenly, he looked so fragile. Broken.

Kagemaru felt the stare and looked up, their eyes connecting. It was…mystical. Like something was magnetizing them to focus on each other.

"Kagemaru?" He turned to Chouji. "What are you going to do now?" Kagemaru frowned thoughtfully.

"Kill Itachi," he said thoughtfully. "Kill Deidara and Kisame. Kill Itachi."

"Besides that?"

"Dunno. Didn't really think about it." He glanced at Sasuke. "Guess that's why baby Uchiha over there never went through with his whole 'I will keeeeel you' thing. Didn't think ahead." He closed his eyes. "Well this has been a great day. Decimating a ninja village, almost dying, getting a guy's life stuck in my head, almost dying…man, this is troublesome." He paused, frowning. "I should think up a new catchphrase." Chouji chuckled and handed him a bag of chips.

Kagemaru flashed him an appreciative grin. "Ino…that's the blonde, right? I almost killed her." He frowned, again. "I really need to apologize for that, don't I? And then there's scaring the crap out of Hinata, trying to kill Naruto…man, the list goes _on_."

"You're never going to apologize for any of this, are you?" Chouji accused. Kagemaru grinned.

"Hell no. Shikamaru had the right idea: Don't do it if you don't have to. Although…I might apologize to Ino. She does kinda deserve it."

"She does," Chouji agreed. "She cried for forever when Shikamaru disappeared. I had to talk her out of going on suicide missions."

"Hm." Kagemaru pursed his lips, thinking hard. "When did Angstman and Smartgirl hook up?"

"A little over a year ago. Sasuke finally realized Sakura seriously was in love with him."

"Moron," Kagemaru said under his breath. "How frigging blind can you _be_?" He rolled his eyes and Chouji cracked a grin. They both looked up as the rest of the group approached.

"So…?" Temari asked. "How…"

"Do I feel?" Kagemaru finished. "Well, I could _really_ kill Itachi right now, but besides that I'm good." Temari smiled slightly. "So what are you guys going to do, kill me?"

"No," Sakura said. "We're going to send messages to Tsunade to check what's going on and head over there."

"And then we'll tell the Kazekage you tried to kill Temari," Naruto added. "Oh, Gaara's going to _kill_ you."

"Let's tell him they went out," Kiba suggested. "I want to see Kankurou's face."

"Hey…" They all looked at Kagemaru. "Can I…talk to Ino? Alone?"

"Sure," Ino said softly, flopping down beside him. She gave the others a pointed glare and they trailed away.

--

"I am so, so sorry," Kagemaru said. "I can't believe I – man, I'm such an idiot, I'm so –" Ino grabbed him in a fierce hug and he stared before embracing her back.

"You moron," Ino sniffed. "You're acting just like Shikamaru did after his first Chuunin mission. It's not your fault. None of it is." She pulled back and whacked him, hard.

"OW!" he yelped; she glared at him and yelled, "You even THINK about trying that suicide jutsu ever again, you're dead, you hear me? DEAD!"

--

"Well Ino's back to normal," Kiba observed with amusement as the two ex-teammates bickered like an old couple. "I used to think those two would get married, you know."

"Nah," Sakura said. "I mean, sure, if Shikamaru had been a little more outgoing. But they're friends, nothing more." She glanced at Temari. "Which leads me to…"

"Can we talk privately?" the Sand-nin interrupted. They moved away and Temari hissed, "What are you getting at?"

"I see the way you two look at each other," Sakura said patiently. "It's kind of obvious."

"Thank you, billboard," Temari groaned. "Yell it out for the whole world, why don't you?" At Sakura's expression, she hastily added, "I'm kidding."

"Temari, I get it," Sakura said. "You guys had sparks since the Chuunin Exams. But you have to make sure you mean this."

"Mean it?" Temari repeated numbly.

"You liked Shikamaru. Is that who you're in love with? Or is it Kagemaru?" No answer. "They're not the same, Temari. They never will be."

"I know," Temari sighed. "I know, it's just…they're exactly alike. _Almost _exactly alike. It's hard to see him without seeing _him_." Sakura nodded sympathetically.

"I don't know what the hell's going on…but I know that I do…kind of…

--

"Is Kiba going out with Hinata?"

"What?" Ino gaped. "No. No, no, why the hell –"

"He seems kind of overprotective," Kagemaru explained. Ino laughed.

"It's the whole 'team equals family' thing. You were like that too, that time I started drooling over whatshisface, Jannu." Kagemaru grinned, deciding not to ruin the mood by reminding Ino it had been Shikamaru, not him.

"So Asuma's dad, you're the daughter…" Kagemaru squinted. "What would I be?" Ino grinned and said, "The annoying brother." He growled and lightly punched her, resulting in her punching back, hard. He groaned.

"Ow…" He glared. Ino stuck her tongue out in triumph.

"Having fun kids?" Kiba trudged forward, Akamaru trailing behind him.

"Sort of," Kagemaru said. Hinata edged forward nervously, Shino behind her. "Just getting reacquainted now that I'm less psychopathic."

"Yeah, that's always a good thing."

"I don't know," Ino said slyly. "There was always something hot about mysterious sociopaths…" The looks on Kiba and Kagemaru's faces were priceless.

"…I really didn't need to know that," Kagemaru said hoarsely. Kiba nodded fervently and Ino laughed, pulling Kagemaru into a chokehold.

"Just kiddding!" she cackled as Kagemaru gasped out, "Ino, stop killing me!"

Temari watched on with slight jealousy, smirking when Kiba was smacked in the face after a useless attempt to save Kagemaru from the blonde.

"Almost like old times, huh?" Sakura said. Temari glanced at her.

"We can't go to Suna," the older kunoichi said. "The Akatsuki will probably come after Naruto, and possibly Kagemaru. We'll have to keep traveling, try to throw them off." Sakura frowned softly, sadness reflected in her emerald eyes.

"I see," she finally said. Temari wondered what it must be like, losing a friend then gaining him as an amnesiac enemy. Horrible.

"We should start," Temari added hesitantly. Sakura gave her a quick smile and ran ahead toward the others. Temari watched, suddenly cold as she wondered what would happen to them.

**Preview: **

"_Come on pretty boy, let me hear you scream."_

"_INO!"_

"_I'm going to f---ing kill you!"_

"_Oh, sh--."_


	10. Chapter 10: Sayanora, Normality

A/N: hooray

A/N: Ok, chapters 10 and 11 died. (puts flowers on grave) I _did_ like the random ninja attack though, so I'm rewriting that. And I'm still splitting the gang up. And the waterfall alone-ness WILL return…and actually be slightly romantic. GASP!

PS: (SPOILER) OMG, ITACHI'S DEAD!! (cries in corner)

PPS: you should still love LaZii D33R LoVeR. Because, for some reason, I do. So LOVE HER. And PPPS: I hate this new doc. uploading thingy. And PPPPS: REALLY HATE IT. THis is like, my fifth time putting the breaks in.

_loveme.loveme.loveme.loveme._

It had been two days, and Kiba was getting worried. Hinata was riding on Akamaru's back since her feet had started bleeding when she slipped and Naruto was quieter than usual. It was eerie, the way their entire lives had gone down the drain in a few days.

Not that he blamed Shika/Kagemaru, of course. It wasn't his fault Itachi was a creepy bastard. His eyes unintentionally slid over to Sasuke, debating if Sasuke would have turned out like Shikamaru had it been him.

No. He wouldn't have come back for a suicidal revenge. He would have kept trying to kill his brother, the moron. Secretly, Kiba kind of wished it had been Sasuke instead of Shikamaru. At least Sasuke would have been a willing enemy.

He suddenly realized Temari was shouting for everyone to stop and he firmly planted his feet on a tree, digging his nails in as his body unconsciously swung forward. He glanced at Temari questioningly and she nodded toward Hinata.

The girl in question had thick veins pulsing around her eyes like a writhing visor and he instantly recognized the look of concentration on her face.

"Six of them," Hinata said shortly. "Three coming closer, three behind. I don't know who they are, but they all have enough chakra to be dangerous. Especially the three in the back." Sasuke swore under his breath and looked at Kagemaru. Kiba knew what the Uchiha was thinking and prayed they were wrong. Prayed it wasn't the Akatsuki.

He looked to Temari, who was assessing the situation calmly but he could see the little wrinkle under her lip as she tried not to bite down on it.

"We split," she said finally. "Sasuke, Shino, Chouji, Hinata, Ino. Me, Kagemaru, Kiba, Sakura, Naruto. Got it?" They all nodded and the others took off, Kiba feeling terrified.

He could smell it, feel it: the animalistic bloodlust wafting through the air. He'd sensed it so many times in battle and it was overpowering him. He choked and Sakura glanced at him in alarm.

"They're coming," he managed to gasp out before the scent of battle overtook him and Sakura screamed, "Look out!"

Something slammed into him and it went dark.

"Kiba!" Naruto screamed as a blurry figure crashed into the other boy. Akamaru suddenly yelped and disappeared in a puff of smoke, trailing to a red amulet on Kiba's neck. Above Kiba was a slim girl with long sea-green hair and elegant curves. She was scantily dressed, with wire meshing covering her chest, and a hitai-ate slinging seductively off her hips. A foreign symbol loosely resembling a half circle with a double-line attached was etched into the metal and Sakura hissed behind Naruto, "Hidden Storm."

"Cute kid," the woman commented dryly. She ran a finger down Kiba's face, her unnaturally long nails clawing into his skin.

"Hey bitch! What did you do to Akamaru?" Naruto shouted, thoughts racing through his head. The woman frowned, pursing her lips.

"Bitch? Little brat." She stood straight, dragging Kiba upwards by his collar. "You mean the mutt? I just sealed him into something more…convenient." She fingered the blood-colored pendant and it sank into Kiba's skin until nothing was left but a red tattoo similar to the Hidden Sea symbol. "Never did like animals."

"Get away from Kiba!" Sakura said sharply, pulling out a kunai. The stranger laughed sharply.

"What are you going to do with _that_?" she sneered.

"Kill you, for starters," Sakura snapped. Kagemaru watched silently, scrutinizing the situation.

"…bitch…" Kiba whispered, his head lolling backwards as his eyes opened slightly. The woman looked down, smiling.

"Oh, you're awake."

"Aka…maru…" Kiba croaked, his half-lidded eyes darting down to see the seal etched onto his skin. "…Aka…" The kunoichi grabbed his hair and he yelped; Naruto bursting forward and Temari holding him back.

"Come on pretty boy," she whispered darkly. He could feel her breathing down his neck, choking him with the sickly sweet smell of flowers and the sea. "Let me hear you scream." She raised her arm and it split off into water, freezing into sea-glass shards. She swung down violently – someone was screaming – and Kiba waited to die.

Something warm hit him and he could smell the rusty-salt tang of blood. He didn't feel pain so he daringly opened his eyes.

Kagemaru was there, his eyes glowing with bloodlust, with a bloodied dark blade gripped tightly in his hands. The woman was screaming, Kiba realized, and he looked up and saw why. Her right arm had been sliced off at the elbow and was bleeding terribly. Blood stained her beautiful features and she was spitting out crimson fluid, screaming, "I'm going to f--ing _kill_ you!"

Kagemaru looked at her coldly, his face dark and terrible. Suddenly Kiba could see it: all that hate, welling up, the bitterness and loss. The eyes that had changed from tired, hopeful eyes to the frozen looks of a killer.

The woman was still screaming and suddenly there was blood, and she was gone. Kagemaru stared after the trailing blood silently before turning to Kiba.

"You ok?" asked the boy, as if he were discussing the weather.

"Y-yeah," Kiba answered as the others drew nearer. Hinata hurriedly touched Kiba's throat softly and muttered something under his breath; there was smoke and Akamaru appeared, whining softly.

"Akamaru…" Kiba embraced his friend and Kagemaru looked down, peering through the branches.

"…She's dead," he said curtly. Temari and Sakura exchanged disturbed looks, something troubling them, when Sasuke crashed through the branches, carrying a bleeding blonde in his arms. Kagemaru instantly started.

"INO!" he screamed. "What the hell happened to her, Sasuke?"

"This bastard from the Hidden Storm attacked her," the Uchiha said gravely. "We managed to kill him, but barely." Kagemaru shot over to Ino, fussing and generally spazzing out while Naruto sighed.

"We don't know when the other three will get here," Sakura said worriedly. "Guys, we can't stay in such a large group. We're going to have to split up. Permanently."

They all stared at her like she was crazy. Which, of course, they thought she was.

"We're splitting up?" Chouji repeated, aghast. "But…we can't!"

"We can, and we will. We can be tracked too easily if we're in a group like this. We'll go into our respective teams."

"What about Temari?" Shino spoke up. "She has no team." Sakura gave the older kunoichi a mischevious look and said, "She can pair up with Kagemaru."

"WHAT?" they both screeched. Ino looked ready to laugh while Sakura just shrugged. Kagemaru protested, "Why am I stuck with the troublesome woman?!"

"Would you prefer Ino?" Sakura suggested in a soft, dangerous voice. Kagemaru glanced at the blonde, who raised an eyebrow threateningly.

"I'll keep this one, thanks."

Temari had to smile at the predictable response, but switched it to a glare when Sakura gave her a look that read: _It's you from now on._

_Screw you_, Temari stared. Sakura smirked. Ino added her own look:

_Jump him._

_WHAT? _

_You're totally into him!_ Ino's eyes seemed to yell. Hinata pointedly ignored their mental conversation, simply praying for the soul of whomever they were glaring about. Sasuke and Naruto were patiently waiting for Sakura, Naruto asking why she was staring at Temari so scarily and Sasuke silently wondering as well.

"…um…" Kiba broke in. The girls simultaneously swiveled their heads to look at him, looking both creepy and evil as they fixed their stares onto him. He swallowed hard and said, "Shouldn't we be…?"

"Oh, right," Sakura agreed. She handed out small scrolls and ordered, "Everyone tattoo this on yourself. You just need to get some blood on it to summon a messenger, and we'll be able to contact each other."

"I have one, thanks," Kagemaru said with a tight smile. Kagami blinked slowly, his skin rippling with silvery green. Temari accepted both scrolls, shoving one at Kagemaru with a warning look. The other sighed and tucked it into his pocket.

"Well…" Naruto said, his face unusually solemn. "Here we go." They all looked at each other, drawing in the faces one more time before they all silently vanished from their little spot. All that remained of them was blood and a few leaves spinning down the air.

_loveme.loveme.loveme.loveme._

"What _fun_," Temari murmured softly, her new markings stretching down her thigh. Kagemaru shrugged, his back against a tree as their tiny fire half-heartedly spat flames at them. Seeing him sitting there, perfectly calm, suddenly hit her hard with an unexplainable wrath.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" she burst out. He stared at her as she continued scathingly, "How can you not care about all this crap that's going on? You were a f--ing Akatsuki a few days ago! I am _never_ going to see my brothers again! I will _never_ see anyone I love, ever again, and you're just—"

"You'll see them again," Kagemaru said softly, though he looked a bit upset at her sudden accusation. "As soon as we kill Itachi." Temari fell silent, bitter thoughts filling her head as the name echoed in her mind.

_Itachi._

There was such loathing in both their voices when they said the name, though for different reasons. Temari because she was horrified by what the psychotic bastard was willing to do for power. Kagemaru because the psychotic bastard had effectively murdered someone, someone whose life was trapped in his head.

Someone Temari had once been in love with.

_loveme.loveme.loveme.loveme._

"Sayanora, normality," Ino said softly. Chouji patted her shoulder comfortingly and said, "You sure about this?" Ino rolled her eyes and said, "I'm _sure_." She held up the bottle of dye with fear lingering in her eyes.

"You don't _seem_ sure," Chouji grinned. Ino smacked him lightly and said, "It'll take me a while. I like my hair."

"You don't have to color _all_ of it."

"…I knew there was a reason I occasionally listen to you."

_loveme.loveme.loveme.loveme._

"Are…are you…?"

"For the millionth time Hinata, I'm _fine_," Kiba said. The Hyuuga heiress flushed and murmured a stuttering apology while Shino simply looked on.

"This sucks," he said in a low voice. Kiba and Hinata stared for a full minute, eyes wide.

"Did…you just complain?"

loveme.loveme.loveme.loveme.

"THIS SUCKS, DATTEBAYO!" Naruto yelled. Sakura instantly smacked him, yelling, "SHUT UP, IDIOT!" Sasuke looked on with amusement and a slight twinge of fear.

"But Sakura-chan, it _does_!" the blonde whined. "We finally got a little bit of Shikamaru back, and now—!"

"We never got him back," Sasuke said in a low voice. "Godaime was right; there's no way to reverse the jutsu. All we did was fill in some guy's head with the ghost of someone else."

"Poor Temari," Sakura sighed. "It must be hard."

"Eh?" Naruto blinked. "What are you talking about?"

_loveme.loveme.loveme.loveme._

No. No, no, no. This was _not_ happening.

It was a nightmare. Must be. Had to be. She was _not_ trapped underneath a freaking waterfall with the mind-twin of her crush.

"Well…" Kagemaru squinted at Temari, offering a hesitant grin. "This is awkward."

Oh God, she was.


	11. Chapter 11: Isn't Nara Shikamaru

A/N: hooray

A/N: I'm back! Love me! Don't throw pointy objects at me! Review me! Don't hurt me!

narashadow made me realize I forgot to explain about Kagemaru's talkingness. --;; The JaeSang jutsu "rebirth"ed his mind, AND his body…so yeah. Not too much, but enough that his throat wouldn't feel like it was eating itself when he talked. Sorry for the confusion.

Enjoy.

_--_

He feels so empty. He's trapped, both beneath a waterfall and his own mind. The waterfall _is_ admittedly his fault; he hadn't noticed the exploding tag. Temari can glare at him all she wants, but it won't change anything: he is trapped.

He remembers everything just a little too much. Shikamaru's first crush, Shikamaru's first kill. Shikamaru's protectiveness of Ino and Chouji and his terrible grief when Asuma died. Shikamaru's savage pleasure when he destroyed Hidan, broke the bastard apart bit by bit and relished every bloodied second of it. Shikamaru's horror when Itachi picks him, above all others, as the heir to his twisted legacy. Yes, he remembers very well.

But it's not him. Shikamaru's dead now, simply a ghost of a person dwelling in his mind. Or is it Shikamaru's mind? He isn't so sure anymore, what with it being Shikamaru's body but his own consciousness in control.

He wonders how Ino is, smirking a little as strong feelings to protect her arise, despite them not being his own.

Maybe Nara Shikamaru's not as dead as he thinks.

Kagami's blissfully asleep on his finger, his entire silver body shut down at the moment, and he hates to wake his sleeping friend. Friend. Are they friends?

He isn't sure what a friend even is. A comrade, but more intimate. But not a lover, nowhere near a lover. Perhaps a certain subsection of soulmate, yes, that fits nicely. So what was… - his eyes slide to the furious woman trapped with him - …she? Not a lover, he supposes. Not really a teammate either, considering he is the mixed up fragments of negative space left by Nara Shikamaru.

Perhaps she is meant to guide him. Lead him in this unfamiliar, strange, demented world where he doesn't belong.

Because she is in love with Nara Shikamaru. He isn't stupid; he can see the signs, subtle as they are. She is deep in mourning for the loss of someone she never told. And she is most likely in love with him as well, confusing him for Nara Shikamaru. But they aren't the same.

Nowhere near the same.

It isn't Kagemaru who killed five hundred thirty-eight people. It isn't Kagemaru who cried raggedly while locked in a room with a murderer. It isn't Kagemaru who tried to kill his former friends, countless times, and willingly lost his soul in an attempt for peace.

But it isn't Nara Shikamaru either.

--

She wants to die, so badly. She can feel her mind crumbling as it becomes hard to breathe. She misses him, misses Shikamaru, and it's funny how it's now that she finally admits it to herself now that he isn't here.

She's in love with Nara Shikamaru.

She didn't mean to fall for a lazy, chauvinistic genius that smiles and tells her she's a troublesome woman. It just happened, as if Kami had pulled Fate's strings and tangled their lives entwined. But Nara Shikamaru isn't here anymore.

She knows that they're not the same. She knows that Kagemaru isn't the one who beat her at the Chuunin Exams. She knows Kagemaru isn't the one who made her cry when he went missing. She knows Kagemaru isn't the one who told her killing is what everything's about.

But she's not one hundred percent it's Nara Shikamaru either.

She wishes he were here, making some snide comment about how troublesome the situation is, making a brilliant plan that impresses her, then making some sexist remark that makes her want to kiss him or kill him.

But he's not here anymore, and her heart sinks in her chest when she's faced with this fact. Nara Shikamaru is dead. Nara Shikamaru is dead. Shikamaru is dead. Is dead. Dead. _Dead._

She sighs loudly and barks out that this is all Kagemaru's fault, that he better fix it, that if they die here in such a stupid way after surviving the Akatsuki she'll kill him, while her heart and lungs wither up and she chokes back the feeling of dread and sorrow and tears.

Kagemaru makes a comment she misses and she ignores him while feeling around the thick wall of dirt and rock and root and muck and secretly wonders what the hell he is.

He isn't Shikamaru. Shikamaru died, so long ago, and it was only the tearstained hope his old comrades would end his suffering that kept him alive. But they couldn't; and they proved that to him countless times. So he destroyed himself so it would be easier on them.

But Kagemaru still holds pieces of Shikamaru, even if he doesn't notice. "Troublesome." The obsession over their safety, especially Ino and Chouji's. The fear of Ino. Shikamaru didn't kill everything he was, just put it into a different mindset that lives a different world.

She supposes she's his angel. She guides him, leads him, prays he doesn't die, and obsesses over him because she wants him to be someone else. She briefly wonders what would happen.

"Please," she could say. Please what? Stay like this forever? Pretend to be the dead almost-lover? Live a lie, live a life that's trapped in your head for little old me? Please?

She's startled when her arm plunges through the wall and feels water and air and Kagemaru's laughing and saying she's amazing, saying she's found the weak spot. She numbly pulls her arm back and a thin stream of water and gold sunlight shimmers down, and she sees him smiling at her so beautifully and she just wants to cry.

He's not Shikamaru. He never will be. But she still feels for him, still pities him, still loves him like he's the person he's not and she's so confused. So…_exhausted_ by the whole experience, and she needs to die, needs to kill, needs to live and to breathe and to _scream_ because she doesn't understand.

She's leaning in but she barely notices, even when her own breath hitches in the back of her throat. She's pulling at his shoulders, bringing him close, but she barely sees even while she stares deep into dark eyes that are not Nara Shikamaru's anymore.

And suddenly she's kissing him, and flecks of water pelt her face, and she's not sure if the cool sensation trickling down her cheeks is water or her own tears.


End file.
